CABINET OFFICE

Entertainment

David Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his estimate is of the total spending of his Department on entertainment in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Details of my Department's spend on entertainment in each year from 1997–98 to 2001–02 can be found below.
	
		£000s 
		
			  Entertainment expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 192 
			 1998–99 170 
			 1999–00 276 
			 2000–01 277 
			 2001–02 254 
		
	
	Information prior to 1997–98 is not held on the Department's accounting system and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.
	The estimated spend on entertainment in 2002–03 is £216,000.

External Consultancies

David Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place to the noble Baroness Wilcox by Lord Macdonald on 27 November 2002, Official Report; column WA42.
	Expenditure by the Cabinet Office on external consultants is estimated to be £9,493,000 for 2002–03. The figures for the Central Office of Information (COI), the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) and the only non-departmental public body sponsored by the Cabinet Office with such spend are as follows:
	
		
			  COI GCDA Committee on standards in public life 
		
		
			 1997–98 66,395 n/a 0 
			 1998–99 30,972 n/a 0 
			 1999–2000 17,468 33,997 0 
			 2000–01 48,980 21,715 0 
			 2001–02 52,170 53,385 35,056 
			 2002–03(1) 18,886 58,000 7,400 
		
	
	(1) Estimated
	The figures for earlier years, and those for GCDA for 1997–98 and 1998–99, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Government Policy (Online Access)

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to extend the opportunities for members of the public to contribute to the development of government policy by online scrutiny and discussion of proposed initiatives.

Douglas Alexander: The Government have recently consulted on e-democracy which included issues concerning online scrutiny. A report on the consultation, entitled "In the Service of Democracy: Your Response", along with individual responses, has been posted on the Government's e-democracy website, www.edemocracy.gov.uk.
	The majority of the responses are supportive of the Government's efforts to develop an e-democracy policy although many important and serious issues were raised that will require detailed analysis and consideration.
	We are very grateful to all those who took time to consider the issues raised in the consultation document and we will, of course, keep the House informed as policy is developed on e-democracy.

Heritage Assets

David Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what sales of heritage assets and antique assets have been made by his Department since May 1997; if he will list such assets; and if he will estimate the total sales proceeds.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office has not sold any heritage assets and antique assets since May 1997.

Public Suggestions

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to improve the analysis by Government Departments of suggestions from the general public.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to making use of more diverse methods of involving the public and to engaging a broader range of people. The "Code of Practice on Written Consultation" provides guidance to Departments on written consultations with the public. To help policy-makers improve policy design through undertaking public involvement initiatives, the Cabinet Office has also published "Viewfinder: A Policy Maker's Guide to Public Involvement". Viewfinder is available on the Policy Hub Website www.policyhub.gov.uk. Viewfinder includes examples of good practice, features a wide range of involvement techniques (including e-consultation) and describes how effectively to plan public involvement activities, including analysis and evaluation. It informs policy-makers how to ensure that involvement includes different groups and individuals within society. It also addresses issues such as how to manage high volumes of responses and how to weight responses from different groups.
	The Office of Public Services Reform in the Cabinet Office has developed five principles of good customer feedback to guide Departments in consulting on public services.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library the results of the opinion survey undertaken by ICM on behalf of UK Sport on a London bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: I will arrange for a copy of the full results of the ICM survey of public opinion on a London 2012 Olympic Bid to be placed in the Library.
	A summary of the results of the survey were published by my Department and presented to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport on 15 January. The full results were published by ICM on their website at www.icmresearch.co.uk on 16 January.

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the total expenditure by her Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad, in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

DEFENCE

Air Traffic Contract

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a risk assessment was made in the first assessment of the Nottingham Air Traffic (ATC) contract.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 January 2003
	I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Wattisham air traffic contract. A risk assessment was included during the bid evaluation process for the first competition of the Wattisham air traffic contract, and that process identified areas of concern in all bids. The resulting contract with VT Aerospace (contract CS 4D/2017) was, however, terminated by mutual consent and the competition was re-run between the other bidders, leading to a contract with Serco (contract CS 4D/2027).

Accommodation Blocks (Portland)

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been received by his Department in exchange for the sale of the Hardy accommodation blocks at Portland.

Lewis Moonie: The freehold of the Hardy accommodation blocks at Portland were owned in part by the Ministry of Defence and in part by the Crown Estate. The sale was on the basis of a shared receipt pro rata of those freehold areas. The Ministry of Defence received £300,000 for its part of the accommodation blocks site.

Blood/Plasma

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 20 January (ref. 91885), what the expected requirements for blood and plasma are.

Lewis Moonie: I am withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Challenger II

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the desertification of Challenger II tanks will be completed (a) before they are loaded for transport to the Gulf and (b) before they arrive in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The improvement in the performance of Challenger II tanks in desert conditions is achieved through the combined effect of a number of modifications. The first modification was completed prior to the tanks being loaded for transportation. The remaining modifications will be completed after they arrive in theatre.

Cluster Bombs

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if cluster bombs are part of the ordnance package on its way to the Gulf.

Adam Ingram: I am withholding this information in accordance with Exemption la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which relates to defence.

Depleted Uranium Munitions

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) British forces and (b) United States forces deployed to the Gulf have depleted uranium munitions available as part of their armoury.

Adam Ingram: I can confirm that British Forces deployed to the Gulf will have depleted uranium munitions available as part of the armoury. The deployment of depleted uranium munitions by US Forces, is a matter for the US Government.

Financial Dynamics

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 45W, on Financial Dynamics, when the two meetings which his Department's official attended with Financial Dynamics took place; and whether Financial Dynamics were authorised to represent his Department in liaising with the press.

Geoff Hoon: The two meetings took place on 10 and 12 December 2002. Financial Dynamics' role was to advise the Government on likely media perspectives of the market implications of the discussions between the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence press office continued to represent the Department as usual in dealing with media inquiries on the issue, and continues to do so.

Graduates

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of (a) Naval, (b) Army and (c) RAF officers received in each year since 1990 were graduates.

Lewis Moonie: Details of the graduate intake to the Officer Corps in the Armed Forces in recent years are as follows:
	
		
			  Naval Service  Army  RAF  
		
		
			  Officer Intake Graduate Intake % Officer Intake Graduate Intake % Officer Intake Graduate Intake % 
			 1995–96 222 173 78 650 492 76 421 274 65 
			 1996–97 374 290 78 616 493 80 471 284 60 
			 1997–98 346 276 80 718 555 77 639 346 54 
			 1998–99 376 283 75 635 480 76 694 340 49 
			 1999–2000 367 275 75 598 461 77 776 370 48 
			 2000–01 398 273 69 719 593 82 675 354 52 
			 2001–02 386 268 69 727 559 77 767 336 44 
		
	
	Figures for all services are not available prior to 1995–96

Human Centrifuge

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress towards the procurement of a human centrifuge; and what discussions his Department has had with AMST of Austria on the matter.

Adam Ingram: AMST is one of two companies currently in competition for the contract to provide a new human carrying High G Centrifuge for the RAF. An announcement on the award of this programme is planned for August 2003.

Military Forces Deployment

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK military forces are (a) deployed and (b) in the process of deployment in the Gulf and Middle East region, setting out how many personnel of which unit and service are (i) stationed and (ii) due to be stationed in each location in the region.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 21 January 2003
	I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Premature Voluntary Release

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications there have been for Premature Voluntary Release from (a) 40, (b) 42 and (c) 45 Commando in each month of the past year.

Lewis Moonie: RM Commando PVR applications recorded during 2002:
	
		
			  January to March April to June July to September October to November 
		
		
			 40 Commando 15 10 10 5 
			 42 Commando 15 20 10 5 
			 45 Commando 15 10 10 20 
		
	
	Notes
	1 The data for the final quarter of 2002 are not fully available, and do not therefore include December applications.
	2 All figures are rounded to the nearest 5 to protect against individual identification, and data are presented quarterly due to small monthly numbers involved.
	3 Data includes RM Officer and Other Ranks, but excludes small numbers of RN personnel assigned to the Commando units.
	4 The data indicate the periods in which the PVR application was recorded, which may be slightly later than the date of submission, due to managerial or administrative delays.

Publicity and Advertising

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department spent on (i) publicity and (ii) advertising in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Details of Ministry of Defence expenditure on advertising and publicity are contained in the annual MOD Performance Reports. For 1995–96 the information is shown on page 32, Cm 3448; for 1996–97 the information is shown on page 49, Cm 3781; 1997–98 the information is shown on page 49, Cm 4170; for 1999–2000 the information is shown on page 60, Cm 5000; for 2000–01 the information is shown on page 68, Cm 5290 and for 2001–02 the information is shown on page 71, Cm 5661.
	Copies of these reports are available in the House.
	Figures for 1998–99 were not provided in the annual performance report and are as follows:
	
		£ million 
		
			 Category Expenditure 
		
		
			 Recruitment  
			 Royal Navy/Royal Fleet Auxiliary 6.65 
			 Army 11.77 
			 Royal Air Force 10.17 
			 Civilian 3.27 
			 PR, Marketing and Business Support Services 0.84 
			 Chief of Public Relations Expenditure 2.39 
			 Sales Promotion 1.06 
			 Scholarships 0.38 
			 National Employers Liaison Committee (Territorial Army) 1.05 
		
	
	The expenditure for advertising and publicity is spread among many different budgets and budget holders. The Department thus does not have a central advertising and publicity budget and forecast information—in this case for financial year 2002–03—could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as in past years, information on the outturn figure is collated and is expected to be included in the 2002–03 performance report, when that document is published.
	The breakdown of expenditure on publicity and advertising by agencies and non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Reserve Forces

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with employers of reservists currently on the reserve list; and how many reservists have been called up to date.

Lewis Moonie: As at 21 January 2003, 1,816 reservists had been sent call-out notices in support of Operation TELIC. Single Service Adjudication Officers have been in contact with reservists' employers to consider applications for revocation, exemption or deferral of employees' call-out and applications for financial assistance to cover the additional costs resulting from call-out as defined by the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (RFA 96).
	In addition, the Ministry of Defence has been conducting a long-standing campaign designed to win and maintain the support of Britain's employers for the volunteer reserve forces, which was re-launched in September 2002 as the SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers) campaign. Its purpose is to explain to employers not only the benefits of employing reservists, but also the attendant rights and obligations that employers have in respect of those of their employees who are also reservists.

Reserve Forces

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he will take to prevent breaches of the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has been conducting a long-standing campaign designed to win and maintain the support of Britain's employers for the volunteer reserve forces, which was re-launched in September 2002 as SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers). Its purpose is to explain to employers not only the benefits of employing reservists, but also the attendant rights and obligations that employers have, including the requirement to reemploy reservists who have been called-out in accordance with the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985. In addition, when a reservist is called-out, a letter is sent to their employer reminding them of their obligations under the Act.

Reserve Forces

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he will take against companies in violation of the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

Lewis Moonie: Under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, an employer must take into his or her employment, under the same conditions of service as they were previously serving, those former employees who have been called-out as reservists who make a written application at the end of a period of called-out service. If this is not reasonable and practical, the reservist must be reinstated on the most favourable terms of service available.
	Under the Act, where an employer fails to reinstate a reservist, the reservist may apply to a reinstatement committee. These committees, appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, have the power to compel an employer to reinstate an employee and/or order the employer to pay appropriate compensation. Failure to comply with an order of a reinstatement committee is a criminal offence and an employer may be fined on conviction.
	The Act confers no powers on the Ministry of Defence to take measures against employers who fail to re-instate a reservist.

Reserve Forces

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial and legal support he will give to reservists sacked by companies in violation of the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

Lewis Moonie: The Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act provides for reinstatement and/or compensation for reservists dismissed from their jobs whilst called out. Reservists who feel they have been unfairly dismissed by their employer may apply to a reinstatement committee to hear their case.
	Any decision to seek legal advice is a matter for the individual, and the Ministry of Defence is not in a position to offer legal advice in individual cases. However, The Forces Law Network, an association of solicitors with experience of the needs of service personnel, can provide independent legal advice. Advice on how to apply for reinstatement, and what to do if any employer fails to honour his/her legal obligations, is available to reservists at both unit and regional level. In addition, the SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers) campaign can answer general queries about the provisions of the Act.

Reservists' Pensions

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place for reservists to continue with company pensions when they are called up; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: The Reserve Forces (Call-out and Recall) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 1997 (Statutory Instrument 1997 No 309) allows Reservists to continue payments into their civilian employers' pension scheme while they are called out. Under the regulations, the Ministry of Defence has powers to pay the employer's pension contribution, provided that the reservist continues to pay any employee's share required by the scheme. Pension scheme administrators must accept the MOD's payments for this purpose.

Service Personnel (Gulf)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the cost of the deployment of troops and tanks to the Gulf announced on 20 January.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not yet available. When it is, I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Service Personnel (Gulf)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which units the personnel in BARTs and RESTs under operation FRESCO are drawn; how many of them are due to be deployed to the Gulf and from which units will personnel be drawn to replace them; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams (BARTs) and Rescue Equipment Support Teams (RESTs) have been assembled by withdrawing individuals from almost every unit of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Recognising the important contribution the teams have played during the national firefighters dispute, every effort is made to preserve the capability of BARTs and RESTs. Recently, six RAF and 124 Royal Navy personnel have been withdrawn from Operation FRESCO as a direct consequence of deployments to the Gulf. During the course of the industrial action, the Ministry of Defence has maintained a programme of replacing personnel who needed to be withdrawn for various reasons, including the Gulf deployment, in order to ensure that the overall fire and rescue capability remains broadly constant. As this is a rolling programme, there is no direct correlation between those personnel stood down from Operation FRESCO due to their deployment to the Gulf and those personnel (or their parent units) from across the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy being trained as replacements.

Services' Protective Clothing

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests have been conducted to ensure the reliability of (a) gas masks and (b) protective suits worn by services personnel.

Adam Ingram: Both the S10 respirators ('gas masks') and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NEC) suits ('protective suits') are manufactured to required specifications (including stringent quality assurance) to ensure that a high level of reliability is achieved. The respirators have routine inspections covering fit, damage, distortion, wear and component life and are subject to periodic tests (normally annually) in a gas environment to confirm their operational effectiveness. The NBC suits, which are vacuum-packed by the manufacturer prior to dispatch, are subject to exacting quality assurance control. The integrity of the packaging is checked prior to issue to personnel.

Services' Protective Clothing

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the procedure is for repairing damaged protective suits used by service personnel to protect them from (a) chemical, (b) nuclear and (c) radiological attack.

Adam Ingram: Due to the nature of the item, damaged nuclear, biological and chemical suits are replaced and not repaired.

Software Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to mandate companies tendering for the supply of future software systems for the Royal Navy to use Open Source Software for the engineered operating systems.

Adam Ingram: While the Ministry of Defence is examining the benefits of using Open Source Software in some areas, it is not envisaged that its use will be mandated to Project teams. The appropriateness and benefits of Open Source Software for any given project will be assessed against a range of criteria, on a case by case basis.

Software Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the potential financial savings for the Royal Navy of the adoption of Open Source Software for the operating systems of its future software packages.

Lewis Moonie: Software used in the Ministry of Defence is selected on its ability to meet business and operational needs, taking full account of value for money, long-term viability, security and interoperability. The Ministry of Defence currently has no explicit policy on the use of Open Source Software, but does follow the Government Open Source Software policy published and announced in Parliament on 22 July 2002. This policy is available on the e-Envoy website (www.e-envoy.gov.uk) or the Office of Government Commerce website (www.ogc.gov.uk).

Software Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the security implications of adopting commercial off-the-shelf instead of made-to-measure operating systems for future software systems for the Royal Navy.

Lewis Moonie: It is recognised that, increasingly, systems which include commercial off-the-shelf software will be offered to the Ministry of Defence by potential contractors for defence applications. This can be beneficial in reducing development times and costs, but can give concern as off-the-shelf software may be of uncertain origin and not stringently tested prior to release. Projects are therefore treated on a case by case basis. The security requirements of each system will be specified in the design documents. When a commercial off-the-shelf product (e.g. an operating system) is to be used with specified security features, it is required to undergo security evaluation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Housing

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to receive the National Audit Office report on council stock transfers; and whether his review of council housing finances will be published before he has received the report.

Tony McNulty: The timetable for the National Audit Office's report has yet to be finalised. However it is scheduled for consideration by the Public Accounts Committee of this House on 31 March. The NAO research has been helpful in the broader review of the vehicles available for the delivery of the decent homes target.
	The statement by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on the Government's comprehensive long-term programme for sustainable communities, including housing, will be made shortly.

Firefighters Dispute

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on recent progress in resolving the industrial action by firefighters.

Harry Barnes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a further statement on the firefighters' dispute.

Nick Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made a statement to the House on this issue yesterday.

Firefighters Dispute

John Barrett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many armed forces Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams and Rescue Equipment Support Teams were on fire cover during the 24-hour strike by members of the Fire Brigades Union on Tuesday 21 January.

Nick Raynsford: There were 331 Breathing Apparatus Rescue Teams and 59 Regional Equipment Support Teams providing emergency fire cover in the United Kingdom for the 24-hour strike on 21 January. This is the same number of teams as for the previous 10 days of strike action.
	The number of red appliances in use by the military continues to increase. The armed forces are now able to deploy 177 red engines, 90 more than at the start of the last 8 day strike.
	The military now also has a number of aerial water towers to provide additional cover in extreme situations.

Firefighters Dispute

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days were lost to industrial action by firefighters in each of the last 12 months.

Nick Raynsford: In the year up to 23 January 2003, eleven days were lost to national industrial action by firefighters. Ten of these days were in November 2002, and one day from the 21–22 January 2003.

New Deal for Communities

Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal for Communities.

Barbara Roche: Our New Deal for Communities Partnerships have a wide range of projects underway and are developing agreements with those who provide public services to make them more accountable to local people. Many partnerships can now point to important successes in reducing crime, improving the quality of the local environment and engaging with local people. Some of our partnerships do face challenging circumstances, but all are striving for success.

Key Workers

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase the number of houses and flats available to key workers.

Tony McNulty: Under the Starter Home Initiative, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to help 10,000 key workers to buy homes in areas where the high cost of housing is undermining recruitment and retention. In addition, the Housing Corporation's Challenge Fund in 2003/04 will provide some 2,800 new homes for rent or home ownership for key workers in the South East of England.
	Next week's announcement by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will outline our future approach to key workers housing.

Local Government Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in which year the ceilings and floors arrangements in the local government settlement 2003–04 will finish.

Christopher Leslie: We expect floors and ceilings to be part of the system for the foreseeable future.

Capita Group

Paul Burstow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by his Department.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has awarded the following contracts to the Capita Group:
	(1) Housing Employment Mobility Services
	(2) Neighbourhood Renewal—recruitment of advisors
	(3) Staff recruitment. A former DTLR call off contract for the external recruitment of staff below the senior civil service.
	The Capita Group are also working on the Local Government on-line website development and implementation. This contract was awarded to the Cathedral Consortium, who then sub contracted this work to Capita Group.

Departmental Expenditure (Newsprint)

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure of his Department was on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established as a separate department on 29 May 2002. From its formation until 31 December 2002, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expenditure on newspapers, magazines and periodicals is estimated at £144,000, (including Government Offices). This figure is rounded to the nearest £1,000.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he will take to ensure the East Riding of Yorkshire Council receives enough funding to guarantee the provision of nursery school places from April 2004.

Nick Raynsford: In anticipation of the duty to secure universal provision for three-year-olds from April 2004, the new education formula, announced in the provisional local government settlement, allocated funding through Formula Sending Shares based on the greater of the number of pupils in the latest applicable (January 2002) count and 85 per cent. of the resident three year old population.

Ministerial Meetings

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings (a) he, (b) other Ministers and (c) officials of his Department have held with (i) Sir Jeremy Beecham, (ii) other Local Government Association Executive members and (iii) representatives of the Fire Authority employers since 1 December 2002; on what dates the meetings were held; and what was discussed in each case.

Nick Raynsford: Ministers and senior officials meet with Sir Jeremy Beecham and other members of the Local Government Association Executive on a regular basis to discuss many issues. The last meeting took place at the Central-Local Partnership on 22 January.
	Ministers and senior officials have also met representatives of the Fire Authority employers since 1 December 2002. Subjects discussed have included the proposals contained in the final report of Sir George Bain's Independent Review of the Fire Service, and how the Government intends to take them forward.

Planning Appeals

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he plans to issue to (a) regional planning bodies, (b) local authorities and (c) the planning inspectorate on the implementation of PPG3, following the decision in Rowlinson v Warrington Borough Council.

Tony McNulty: Planning Policy Guidance Note 3, 'Housing', introduced a series of tough new measures designed to meet the country's future housing needs in the most sustainable way possible, including a sequential approach which gives priority to re-using brownfield sites in urban areas in preference to developing greenfield sites. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not convinced that it is necessary to issue further advice in the light of the decision in Rowlinson v. Warrington Borough Council, which was determined on the facts of the case.

Planning Appeals

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact on the Government's regeneration policies of the decision in the case of Rowlinson v Warrington borough council.

Tony McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to make such an assessment. The judgment in Rowlinson v. Warrington borough council was made on the facts of that specific case, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not convinced that they are of wider or general application.

Thameslink 2000

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he received the planning application for Thameslink 2000; what associated applications have been submitted, and on what dates; what progress has been made in relation to the (a) planning and (b) associated applications; when he expects to make a decision; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Railtrack have, at various stages, made 47 separate applications in regard to the Thameslink 2000 project, many of which replaced or varied earlier ones. They first applied in November 1997 for an Order under the Transport and Works Act (TWA) and for planning permission, together with applications for listed building consent (LBC) and conservation area consent (CAC). These proposals were modified by further applications in 1998 and 1999 for LBC and CAC and, in September 1999, for an amending TWA Order and related planning permission. In October 2000, while the public inquiry was underway, Railtrack submitted a further tranche of amending planning and LBC applications. The position concerning the applications is therefore a complex one which has involved many changes.
	The inspector who held the public inquiry provided a report in January 2002, followed by supplementary reports in May and June 2002. These were published in July 2002. In summary, he concluded that whilst the scheme would bring very substantial transportation, regeneration and economic benefits, there were three key deficiencies in the scheme—at London Bridge and Blackfriars stations and in the Borough High Street area—which required resolution before a decision could
	appropriately be made on the scheme as a whole. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has since been giving careful consideration to the inspector's conclusions and to the many representations which have been received since the inquiry closed. These include a letter of 31 October 2002 from the Strategic Rail Authority who proposed that the scheme be split into two phases and asked for approval to be granted subject to conditions to deal with the outstanding issues identified by the inspector.
	We are today informing Railtrack that a decision on the scheme is to be deferred pending the submission and consideration of fresh applications aimed at addressing the deficiencies identified by the inspector, an amended Environmental Statement and a proper examination of the SRA's proposal to split the project into two phases. This will require a re-opening of the earlier inquiry.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

PFI (Schools)

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the findings of the Audit Commission report, "PFI in Schools".

David Miliband: The Audit Commission's report found that whilst teaching staff and pupils were generally pleased with their new schools, there had been some difficulties in the procurement process and some design aspects were less than ideal. However, the report focused only on a small number of very early PFI pathfinder schools. Since those early days, as the report itself made clear, we have continuously refined and improved the schools PFI process in the light of experience. Over 500 schools are now covered by PFI deals, representing over £1.3 billion of private sector investment. Another 400 PFI schools are in procurement or provisionally approved. This is a major programme by any standards and many schools are now receiving substantial investments to help provide high quality accommodation, raise educational standards and transform working conditions for pupils and staff.

PFI (Schools)

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of funding the building of schools through the Private Finance Initiative.

David Miliband: The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has significant merits. For example, it allows for risk sharing with the private sector. The public sector does not pay anything until construction work on the school building is complete and the school is receiving the contracted service. New schools are generally completed on time and are then maintained to a high standard over the whole life of the contract. This prevents the deterioration of the schools estate which has been so common in the past. Also, teaching professionals can focus on teaching without the distractions of facilities management and poor accommodation.
	Using the PFI to fund the building of schools has so far meant that an extra £1.3 billion has been invested to provide better conditions for pupils and teachers in over 500 schools. Transforming school accommodation is helping us to raise educational standards.
	As far as individual PFI projects are concerned, each one is assessed at the outset to ensure it will provide best value over the whole life of the contract. Further checks are made at various points during the procurement process to ensure that value for money for the public sector is delivered. Once the project is operational and transactions appear in the local authority's accounts, the authority's auditors will give an opinion on whether these have been compiled in accordance with the relevant accounting standards.

Annual Report

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much producing his Department's latest Annual Report cost; how many copies were printed; how many copies of it were sold at its cover price; to whom copies of the report have been provided free of charge; and how many copies were provided free of charge.

Charles Clarke: The Department pays for the design and typesetting of its departmental Annual Report. The costs of printing are met by the publisher, The Stationery Office (TSO). The Department buys in copies from the TSO at a discount to distribute to Ministers, Ofsted, the Education and Skills Select Committee, DfES and House of Commons Libraries, senior managers and some of our partners and stakeholders.
	At the time of this answer, 1,166 copies have been sold, including 750 purchased by the Department.
	The cost to the Department of typesetting and design was £42,346 and buying in copies from TSO cost £16,773. The total cost to the Department was therefore £59,119.

Class Sizes

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the class sizes of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Haltemprice and Howden for the current academic year.

David Miliband: In January 2002, the average class size (taught by one teacher) in primary and secondary schools in Haltemprice and Howden parliamentary constituency was 27.2 pupils and 22 pupils respectively. This compares with the average class size (taught by one teacher) in primary and secondary schools in England of 26.3 pupils and 21.9 pupils respectively.

Class Sizes (Kirklees)

Ann Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the class sizes of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Kirklees in each of the last five years.

David Miliband: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools(2), average class size(3), Kirklees local education authority
		
			 Position in January each year Primary Secondary 
		
		
			 1998 29.3 22.3 
			 1999 28.5 22.8 
			 2000 27.6 23.0 
			 2001 26.8 22.6 
			 2002 27.0 22.9 
		
	
	(2) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(3) Classes as taught during the one selected period in each school on the day of the census.
	Source:
	Annual School's Census.

GCSE Results

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the secondary modern schools that achieved better results at GCSE than the average for all-ability comprehensive schools in 2001.

David Miliband: The secondary modern schools which achieved better results at GCSE than the average of 47 per cent. for all-ability comprehensive schools in England in 2001 are as listed:
	
		
			 School Town County Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*- C or GNVQ equivalent 
		
		
			 Hillview School for Girls Tonbridge Kent 75 
			 Tolworth Girls' School and Centre for Continuing Education Surbiton Surrey 73 
			 St. Benedict's Catholic High School Alcester Warwickshire 73 
			 Waddesdon Church of England School Aylesbury Buckinghamshire 69 
			 Pensby High School for Girls Wirral Merseyside 67 
			 Upper Wharfedale School Skipton North Yorkshire 67 
			 The Holy Cross School New Malden Surrey 65 
			 St Bernard's Catholic School High Wycombe Buckinghamshire 65 
			 Bowland High School Clitheroe Lancashire 64 
			 Richard Challoner School New Malden Surrey 62 
			 The Misbourne School Great Missenden Buckinghamshire 62 
			 Ribblesdale High School Technology College Clitheroe Lancashire 62 
			 Blackfen School for Girls Sidcup Kent 61 
			 Stratford-upon-Avon High School Stratford- upon Avon Warwickshire 61 
			 Alcester High School Technology College Alcester Warwickshire 60 
			 Coombe Girls' School New Malden Surrey 59 
			 The St George's College of Technology, Sleaford Sleaford Lincolnshire 59 
			 John Colet School Aylesbury Buckinghamshire 58 
			 Holmer Green Upper School High Wycombe Buckinghamshire 56 
			 Henley-in-Arden High School Solihull West Midlands 56 
			 St. Edmund's Church of England Girls' School and Sports College, Salisbury Salisbury  55 
			 Caistor Yarborough School Market Rasen Lincolnshire 55 
			 Studley High School Studley Warwickshire 55 
			 Wellington School Altrincham Cheshire 54 
			 Bilton High School Rugby Warwickshire 54 
			 The Gartree Community School Lincoln  53 
			 The Monks' Dyke Technology College Louth Lincolnshire 53 
			 The Maplesden Noakes School Maidstone  52 
			 Ashton-on-Mersey School Sale Cheshire 51 
			 The Chalfonts Community College Gerrards Cross Buckinghamshire 51 
			 Glenmoor School Bournemouth  51 
			 Great Marlow School Marlow Buckinghamshire 50 
			 The Astor of Hever Community School Maidstone  50 
			 Avonbourne School Bournemouth  49 
			 Wrotham School Sevenoaks Kent 49 
			 The Bradbourne School Sevenoaks Kent 48 
			 The Hayesbrook School Tonbridge Kent 48

Press Releases

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each (a) year and (b) quarter from 1995–96 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We are unable to provide the quarterly figures for the number of press releases dating back to 1995 without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The total number of press releases issued each year between 1995 and 2002 is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Total number of press releases 
		
		
			 1995 472 
			 1996 443 
			 1997 447 
			 1998 598 
			 1999 605 
			 2000 538 
			 2001(4) 395 
			 2002(4) 210 
		
	
	(4) Employment issues were transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions in 2001 as part of the machinery of Government changes. This saw a reduction in the number of press releases issued.
	Press releases dating from 1998 can be accessed via the Department's website, www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/newsiist. Press releases prior to 998 can be accessed via the Government News Network (GNN) website www.nds.coi.gov.uk.

School Playing Fields

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the disposal of a school playing field site for development, where the school has ceased to exist as a result of merger with an adjoining school.

David Miliband: A local authority, governing body or foundation body must obtain the Secretary of State's consent before disposing of any playing field that has been used for the purposes of a maintained school within the preceding 10 years. This applies to both continuing and closed schools.
	Applications to dispose of school playing fields are assessed against three main criteria. These are:
	(i) schools' needs: that playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school making the disposal, and at other schools in the local area, will be met;
	(ii) community needs: that community use of school playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary; and
	(iii) finance: that any sale proceeds are re-invested to provide new or improved sports facilities at schools, or are used otherwise to help raise standards by providing better educational facilities.
	The criteria are set out in the Department's Guidance 0580/2001: The Protection of School Playing Fields and Land for City Academies. The criteria enable the Secretary of State to take into account the team game playing field provision at other local schools. This is to ensure that where there are surplus fields at one school, other local schools are given the opportunity to use those surplus fields. The School Playing Fields Advisory Panel provides advice on the extent to which applications meet the published criteria. The Secretary of State has no influence over what happens to a school playing field once consent has been given to its disposal. Any future development is a matter for the local planning authorities.

Selective Secondary Schools (Torbay)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of Torbay Unitary Authority primary school pupils have gained selective secondary school places in the last three years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many selective place secondary school pupils from outside the Torbay Unitary Authority attended (a) Churston, (b) Torquay Boys' and (c) Torquay Girls' Grammar Schools in each of the last three years; what percentage of the school roll this represented; and how many pupils and what percentage of the selective stream entry came from outside the Torbay Unitary Authority attending Westlands School in each of the last three years.

David Miliband: The information requested is not held centrally.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Sulphur Dioxide Emissions

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list UK sulphur dioxide emissions in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: The following table shows estimated UK emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) from 1997 to 2000 (the latest year for which data are available). Data since 1970 on UK emissions of air pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, are published annually in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI), which can be found at the NAEI website, http://www.naei.org.uk.
	
		
			 Year SO2 emission (thousands of tonnes) 
		
		
			 1997 1,665 
			 1998 1,588 
			 1999 1,210 
			 2000 1,165 
		
	
	Source:
	National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

"Living Places: Powers, Rights and Responsibilities"

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements her Department has made to consult (a) town, (b) parish and (c) community councils about the proposals contained in the document "Living Places—Powers, Rights and Responsibilities".

Margaret Beckett: The consultation paper Living Places—Powers, Rights, and Responsibilities was sent to 370 local authorities, 97 police authorities and constabularies, 17 Government Departments, 23 Government related agencies, 114 public bodies and non-government organisations and 168 companies.
	The launch of the consultation at the Urban Summit received wide-spread high profile press coverage in all the major daily publications. 1,400 copies were given out at the summit and the consultation document has also been available since its launch free of charge from DEFRA publications and through the DEFRA website.

Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 7 January 2003, Official Report, columns 81–84W, concerning the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 16 to 19 December 2002, what the Government's stance was on each of the 11 key features of the Council's conclusions, embodied in the three new regulations on the common fisheries policy.

Elliot Morley: We exerted strong pressure to secure the ending of subsidies for building new vessels at the earliest opportunity; retention of the coastal limits for a further period with a clear indication of expectation that they would continue beyond that; continuation of Hague Preference; and Regional Advisory Councils. On the rest of the key features we, with like-minded member states, generally gave steady support without which the points might not have been secured.

Bioterrorism

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has held with the Home Office about strategies for safe handling of domestic pets in the event of bio-terrorist attacks.

Elliot Morley: Discussions are being held with the Home Office and other Government Departments on a number of different aspects, including those relating to animals.

Birds

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) farm birds and (b) wild birds have been spotted on (i) special projects and (ii) non-special projects land in each region in each of the last 10 years.

Elliot Morley: There is no routine year-on-year monitoring of birds on Countryside Stewardship special projects. However, there are some data available regarding those special projects that are specifically targeted at particular bird species. For example a report published by RSPB in 2001 showed cirl buntings had increased by 83 per cent. on land under Countryside Stewardship scheme agreements, compared with an increase of only 2 per cent. on non-agreement land.
	At present, only provisional results for regional bird data are available. Indicators have been developed based on on-going research by RSPB/BTO on behalf of DEFRA. These provisional estimates show that between 1970 and 1999 the Woodland species population index increased in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the number, East Midlands and the West Midlands. The woodland species population index declined in the East, South East and South West regions. For the five regions where estimates are available, the Farmland species population indices decreased over the period. More detailed information is available on the Government's sustainable development website http://www.sustainable-development.aov.uk/indicators/reaional/2001/h13.htm

Cattle Passports

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of non-compliance with the cattle passport rules are being investigated.

Alun Michael: There are currently seven cases of breach of the Cattle Identification rules being pursued by Defra's investigators as a result of referrals by the British Cattle Movement Service. A further 27 cases are being considered for referral by BCMS. Local authorities also investigate cases independently of Central Government Agencies.

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants have been employed by (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 333–34W.

Civil Servants (Psychometric Testing)

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants have (a) been tested and (b) will be tested using psychometric testing.

Alun Michael: (a) This information is not held centrally by the Department, (b) The inclusion of psychometric testing is being considered as part of the senior managers' development Programme, which will cover approximately 560 people. We are awaiting advice from the consultants recently appointed to design and deliver the programme on the role of psychometric testing within it.

Flooding (Insurance)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of homes in England and Wales that are uninsurable against the risk of flooding.

Margaret Beckett: No such estimate has been made. Some properties have always been uninsurable against flooding.

Compost

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether mechanically separated municipal solid waste organic matter used as a compost feedstock will be treated in the same way as source-separated feedstocks under the amendment to the Animal By-products Order.

Michael Meacher: Waste that has, or may have, come into contact with meat or meat products will be classified as catering waste and will need to be treated as catering waste, in line with the requirements of the Animal By-products Order. As it may be difficult to demonstrate that household waste collected unsorted and then mechanically separated has never been in contact with meat or meat products, this is that it has been kept apart from meat and meat products may be more straightforward, if that cannot be done, then source separated waste must also be treated as catering waste.

Compost

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the standards required for compost derived from mechanical separation of municipal solid waste organic matter for use on land.

Michael Meacher: There are no statutory standards for compost, although by virtue of Best Value Indicator BV82b, compost counts towards local authority statutory targets for recycling and composting. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), in close co-operation with the Composting Association, has developed a BSI Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for compost. The delivery of this PAS for compost should help to create markets for organic waste derived products by creating confidence in the product. Achieving the PAS will depend on, for example, the suitability of the feedstock and the composting process used. We expect the EU Commission to issue a proposal for a Bio-waste Directive later this year; this should contain harmonized EU standards for composting.

Departmental Running Costs

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs of (a) the Department and (b) each of its sponsored agencies were in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Detailed information on administration costs for Defra and its agencies, going back to 1998–99 and with projections to 2003–04, is set out in Table 5.5 of the 2002 Departmental Report (Cm 5422). Data for years before 1998–99 are not available on the same basis. Provisional outturn for gross and net administration cost limits were published in Public Expenditure 2001–2002 Provisional Outturn (Cm 5574), Tables 4 and 5. Updated information, with plans to 2005–06, will be published in the 2003 Departmental Report in the spring.

Equine Passports

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimates she has made of the costs of administrating equine passports.
	(2)  what steps her Department is intending to take to minimise the costs to horseowners of introducing equine passports.

Alun Michael: At present there are 56 organisations approved in the UK to issue horse passports. The administration costs to them will vary according to their own requirements and the number of passports they each issue. We have not therefore made any estimate of the costs of administering horse passports.
	Current costs to horseowners of buying horse passports is expected to decreasedue to economies of scale which will occur when every horse is required to have a passport.

Flooding

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which (a) agencies and (b) authorities are responsible for (i) flood prevention, (ii) flood management and (iii) remedial action in respect of the village of Pitton in Wiltshire; what their functions are; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has policy responsibility for flood defence in England while operational responsibility for delivering the service falls to the 'operating authorities': the Environment Agency, local authorities and Internal Drainage Boards. The Environment Agency has a general supervisory duty over all matters relating to flood defence and they are also responsible for flood forecasting and flood warning arrangements. In respect of Pitton, Salisbury district council and Wiltshire county council have responsibilities as flood defence and highways authorities respectively.
	I understand that flooding in Pitton is due to a combination of high groundwater and springflows. The Agency has exercised its supervisory power by producing reports into the flooding that occurred in 1995 and 2000. Following the 1995 report, Salisbury district council undertook some works with Defra grant aid. I understand that all the authorities have signed up to an action plan following the 2000 report.

Flooding

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total estimated financial cost of flood damage in Nottinghamshire was for 2002–03

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency does not hold data for total financial cost of flood damage for all flooding events in all locations.

Fraud and Theft

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been lost by her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies through (a) fraud and (b) theft for each year since 1996–97.

Alun Michael: The Department has only been in existence since June 2001. Information covering earlier periods is therefore not available, and could be constructed retrospectively only at disproportionate cost. Annual reports, which the Treasury prepares on fraud, covering returns from both the former MAFF and DETR, are deposited in the House of Commons Library.
	However, annual returns of fraud submitted by DEFRA, including its Agencies to HMT covering the financial years 2001/2002 show the total cost of theft and fraud to the department to be as follows:
	
		
			  Fraud (£) Theft (£) 
		
		
			 Core-DEFRA 61,066 38,678 
			 Agencies — 226,111 
			 Non-departmental bodies N/a N/a

Horticulture Research International

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the mailshot on the Horticulture Research International, dated 20 January 2003, cost broken down into (a) postage, (b) publication and (c) envelopes.

Elliot Morley: The Government announced its response to the Quinquennial Review of Horticulture Research International to Parliament on 20 January 2003. A copy of the statement has been made available on DEFRA's website: www.defra.gov.uk. reference: News Release 24/03 of 20 January. The Department has also written to more than 150 individuals or organisations who made representations about the Review to alert them to the statement. The cost of this exercise has not been identified separately but is estimated to be less than £50.

In-farm Slaughter

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Food Standards Agency about in-farm slaughter;
	(2)  what plans she has to devise a procedure which would allow in-farm slaughterers to continue to operate within the law;
	(3)  what her policy is on in-farm slaughter.

Elliot Morley: There have been no recent discussions with the Food Standards Agency regarding on-farm slaughter. The on-farm slaughter of animals is permitted under the 'Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995'. The hygiene regulations covering the on-farm slaughter of animals are a matter for the Food Standards Agency.

Landfill

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many hazardous waste landfill sites operate in the United Kingdom; how many of these are in-house sites; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many landfill sites have submitted applications to deal with hazardous waste after July 2004; how many of these are in-house sites; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The information that is available on landfill sites relates to England and Wales and comes from a conditioning plan exercise conducted by the Environment Agency. The figures requested are set out in the table, broken down by region:
	
		
			 Region Hazardous (post 2002) Of which in-house(5) Hazardous (post 2004) Of which in-house(5) 
		
		
			 Anglian 47 8 9 7 
			 Midlands 42 4 4 2 
			 North East 39 10 11 6 
			 North West 27 6 8 5 
			 South West 16 1 2 1 
			 Southern 13 0 1 0 
			 Thames 19 1 0 0 
			 Wales 15 6 3 3 
			 Total 218 36 38 24 
		
	
	(5) In-house is defined as those landfill sites owned and operated by a company for disposal of its own waste.

Minimum Wage

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year.

Alun Michael: There would be no impact to the cost of salaries to core Defra employees by increasing the national minimum wage by the amounts quoted, either nationally or across the Department in total. The minimum salary for a Defra employee is already above the rates quoted. This is a national salary payable to Defra employees across the United Kingdom.

Special Projects

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on special project schemes in each region in each of the last 10 years.

Alun Michael: The amount of Government funding for Countryside Stewardship Special Projects 1 , in each Government Office region over the last 10 years has been as follows:
	
		Government funding per year (£1,000s)
		
			 Region 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total 
		
		
			 East Midlands 44 49 82 90 72 109 67 120 154 109 894 
			 Eastern 36 27 15 9 21 6 24 15 15 25 186 
			 Greater London 1 1 10 2 1 26 1 1 7 1 52 
			 North East 3 1 8 9 18 13 26 15 6 93 192 
			 North West 17 16 42 4 18 42 31 25 72 170 437 
			 South East 17 62 42 52 57 234 196 159 284 546 1,648 
			 South West 15 51 147 81 173 333 360 390 395 595 2,541 
			 West Midlands 2 23 16 7 93 57 74 65 120 212 670 
			 Yorks/Humberside 2 10 25 5 15 52 54 126 127 175 590 
			 Total 138 241 386 258 456 887 816 924 1,179 1,926 7,211 
		
	
	(6) These figures include two types of Countryside Stewardship special projects: projects for land management (e.g. overwintered stubbles for cirl buntings) where the payment is made annually for 10 years and capital works projects (e.g. restoration of traditional buildings) where the payment is made in one year only.

Special Projects

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to rationalise the special projects scheme; and if she will make a statement about her plans for its future.

Alun Michael: We are carrying out a wide-ranging review of English agri-environment schemes, including the Countryside Stewardship scheme, under which
	special projects are available.
	The review has now reached the second consultation stage, within which views have been invited regarding the Agri-environment Framework document. This document contains a proposal that a higher tier scheme should:
	". . .include provision for special projects, focussing particularly on encouraging group applications aimed at tackling localised environmental problems requiring collective or co-ordinated management, especially where this falls outside the standard menu of options".
	Responses to this consultation should be received by 28 February 2003.

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many statutory instruments were issued by MAFF in each calendar year from 1979 to 2001; and how many have been issued by her Department since June 2001.

Alun Michael: The number of Statutory Instruments issued by MAFF in each calendar year from 1979 June 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1979 95 
			 1980 128 
			 1981 110 
			 1982 119 
			 1983 108 
			 1984 82 
			 1985 88 
			 1986 102 
			 1987 127 
			 1988 96 
			 1989 135 
			 1990 158 
			 1991 111 
			 1992 145 
			 1993 150 
			 1994 115 
			 1995 138 
			 1996 162 
			 1997 139 
			 1998 130 
			 1999 116 
			 2000 127 
			 2001(7) — 
		
	
	(7) To 7 June 297 (of which 259 related specifically to the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak)
	Defra was created on 8 June 2001. The number of statutory instruments laid by Defra in 2001 was 219 of which 159 related specifically to the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak, and seven were on topics previously the responsibility of DETR.
	The figure in 2002 was 127 of which 29 were on topics previously the responsibility of DETR and 6 related to the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth Disease.

Teleworking

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the effects on the environment of the level of teleworking (a) now and (b) over the next five years.

Michael Meacher: Any measure which reduces the need to travel and leads to reductions in emissions of local air pollutants and greenhouse gases would generally have a positive effect on the environment, but no quantification has been undertaken to measure this.

Thames (Dredging)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency or other Government body last dredged the Thames in the Marlow and Medmenham area.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 January 2003
	The Environment Agency last dredged the River Thames in the Marlow and Medmenham area in 1995.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Chechnya

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government has made to the Russian Government about renewal of the OSCE's mandate in Chechnya; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 28 January 2003
	I discussed the issue with the Russian Foreign Minister on 27 December 2002, and sought an extension to the OSCE Assistance Group's existing mandate to allow further negotiations about the future of the mission's presence in Chechnya.

Chechnya

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to ensure that human rights monitors from the OSCE remain in Chechnya; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 28 January 2003
	With our EU and international partners, we have repeatedly pressed the Russian Government to agree a new mandate for the OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya, which includes the monitoring of the human rights and humanitarian situation as one of its key responsibilities.

Health and Safety Strategy

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has collated on the application to his Department and its agencies of the checklist, circulated by letter by Sir Richard Mottram, referred to under Action Point 12 of the Revitalising Health and Safety strategy statement; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be issuing a revised health and safety policy statement which outlines the responsibilities of all staff. This also gives clear guidance on how to access the arrangements to ensure the health and safety of staff, visitors and contractors and provides contact details of the health and safety advisers employed by the FCO. Staff are involved in health and safety issues through health and safety liaison officers and consultation with the Trade Unions.
	The FCO's health and safety experts report quarterly to the Administration Board, chaired by the FCO's health and safety champion, on the incorporation of health and safety awareness in the Department's work. All new staff in London receive health and safety induction training. The health and safety team regularly review the training provision to ensure its suitability.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with EU partners in advance of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 27 and 28 January on the subject of Iraq, with particular reference to the formulation of a common position; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 28 January 2003
	I have had frequent discussions with my EU counterparts and other Foreign Minister colleagues on Iraq in the run-up and in the margins of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 27–28 January; I shall continue these contacts.
	EU Foreign Ministers were united on Iraq at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 27 January. We reaffirmed our view that UN Security Council resolution 1441 represents a final opportunity for Iraq to resolve the crisis peacefully. We urged Iraq to engage in full and active co-operation with the weapons inspectors and provide them, without delay, with all additional and complete information on questions raised by the international community. The question of an EU Common Position did not arise.
	The full conclusions of the Council on Iraq are as follows:
	"The Council, deeply concerned about the situation in Iraq, reaffirms that its goal remains the effective and complete disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The Council fully supports the efforts of the UN to ensure full and immediate compliance by Iraq with all relevant resolutions of the Security Council, in particular with UNSCR 1441 of 8 November 2002. The resolution gives an unambiguous message that the Iraqi government has a final opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully.
	The Council therefore urges the Iraqi authorities to engage in full and active co-operation with UNMOVIC and IAEA. The Iraqi authorities must, as an imperative, provide the inspectors, without delay, with all additional and complete information on questions raised by the international community. The Council expresses its appreciation for the work accomplished by the inspectors so far and reiterates its confidence and full support for Dr. Blix and Dr. El Baradei to complete their mission in accordance with UNSCR 1441. It welcomes their intention to continue and intensify their operations.
	The Council recalls that it stands ready to engage all necessary efforts to answer the needs of UNMOVIC and IAEA in personnel and practical means.
	The Council underlines the fundamental importance of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in accordance with the relevant international instruments. The Security Council has a key role to play in these endeavours.
	The Council reaffirms the role of the UNSC in the implementation of UNSCR 1441. The responsibility of the UNSC in maintaining international peace and security must be respected."

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what powers member states of the United Nations Security Council have to offer political immunity to Saddam Hussein in inviting him to go into exile.

Bill Rammell: The powers of the Security Council are set out in the Charter of the United Nations, Chapter VII of which provides that the Council shall decide what measures are to be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the direct and indirect trade, barter or other form of exchange that has taken place since 1973 between the United States and the United Kingdom on nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons components or nuclear weapons materials under the provisions of the 1959 amendment to the 1958 US-UK Agreement on Mutual Defence on Atomic Energy Matters.

Geoff Hoon: I have been asked to reply.
	Exchanges of information between the United Kingdom and the United States on nuclear weapon matters take place only under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement, and its amendments.
	There have been no transfers of nuclear weapons between the UK and the US. The UK is a member and a Depositary state for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968) and our actions, including under the Mutual Defence Agreement, are in compliance with that treaty. I am withholding other details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Pakistan

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people applied from Islamabad for (a) visitor visas and (b) permanent settlement in the UK in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The number of settlement and non-settlement applications received in Islamabad since 1997 is given below:
	
		
			  Settlement Non-settlement 
		
		
			 1997 9,183 23,828 
			 1998 10,837 38,250 
			 1999 10,279 40,537 
			 2000 9,956 54,390 
			 2001(8) 2,595 13,256 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 10,271 65,149 
			 April 2002 to December 2002 2,005 37,774 
		
	
	(8) These figures are for the period January to March 2001. During 2000 UK visas changed to collecting annual statistics over a financial year period.

HEALTH

General Practioners (Training)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places are available for the training of GPs in England and Wales; and what percentage of trainee places have been filled.

John Hutton: holding answer 2 December 2002
	Information on the places available for the training of general practitioners in England are collected by the Directors of Postgraduate General Practice Education. The information is shown in the table and indicates an increase of 14.9 per cent., since 1999.
	
		
			 Year Number available to provide GP training 
		
		
			 1999 2,111 
			 2000 2,235 
			 2001 2,264 
			 2002 2,425 
		
	
	From the latest figures it is estimated that 90 per cent. of trainee places were filled.
	Information in respect of Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations, whilst the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.

NHS IT Projects

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list IT projects with a total contract value of more than £5 million which are being undertaken by the NHS.

Hazel Blears: The Department of Health, only approves National Health Service Information Management and Technology business cases that exceed £20 million whole life cost. This category currently consists of one case, the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust electronic patient record scheme (whole life cost £25.3 million). The remaining cases are dealt with at various intermediate levels in the NHS; previously by regional offices and now strategic health authorities. We do not maintain a central list of cases approved in the NHS.

Acute and Primary Care Trusts

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state for each NHS acute trust and each NHS primary care trust for the latest year for which figures are available (a) the national reference cost index (Market Forces Factor adjusted), (b) the increase or decrease in funding which the trust would require if its costs were the national average and (c) the trust's surplus or deficit that year.

John Hutton: The information is available in the Library in the Reference Cost Index 2002.
	It is not possible to identify the potential increase or decrease that each trust would require if costs were moved to the national average at this point. Approximately 11 per cent. of services are still excluded from reference costs and national average costs do not yet exist for these services. This does not allow a full analysis and assessment of the overall impact on an individual organisation's income flows.
	Information on National Health Service trusts' surplus and deficits have been placed in the Library.

Asthma

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each year since 1997, broken down by ethnicity, the percentage of children suffering from asthma.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally. The table shows the number of hospital episodes by age where the primary diagnosis is asthma. The International Classification of Disease 10 codes J45-J46 has been used. The data is for 1997–98 to 2001–02.
	Information on the number of hospital episodes where the primary diagnosis is asthma is collected by age. This is shown in the table for the years 1997–98 to 2001–2002.
	
		Ordinary admissions and day cases combined: completed episode primary diagnosis 493 (ICD9 code) diagnosis asthma J45-J46 (ICD10)
		
			  Number of admissions within the year in NHS hospitals  
			 Age 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 0 to 4 21,061 19,431 17,493 14,580 15,253 
			 5 to 14 12,885 11,896 11,703 11,147 11,796 
			 15 to 44 21,271 20,245 18,796 17,993 17,084 
			 Unknown 13 10 20 57 69

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidelines he has issued to general practitioners on accepting asylum seekers; and what assessment he has made of the effect on existing patients.

Hazel Blears: The most recently published guidance is Health Service Circular 1999/018. This explains that refugees or persons applying for asylum in the United Kingdom are regarded as ordinarily resident. They are therefore eligible to register with a general practitioner or personal medical services pilot provider for national health service primary care services.
	Primary care trusts are responsible for securing all health services for their populations. In doing this they will continually assess whether or not the current configuration of primary care services matches the need of the current population. This will include assessing the local impact of asylum seekers.

Bio-terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to prevent contamination in the event of a terrorist attack using biological agents.

John Hutton: Emergency service personnel will play a central role in dealing with any possible contamination, in the event of a potential attack using biological agents. To this end all the 'blue light' emergency services have been provided with suitable personal protective equipment to protect them against the effects of contamination in the event of a bio-terrorism attack. Protocols for washing down and decontamination of emergency service and national service personnel, the public and premises have been developed with the fire service. The NHS already has in place sound working procedures to deal with biological agents, the spread of infectious diseases and to deal with contaminated equipment and premises. The advice of the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens will be sought on how to tackle any new risks from dangerous pathogens should they emerge.

Bio-terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent training has been provided to NHS personnel to deal with a terrorist incident involving biological agents.

John Hutton: Public health guidance was issued to regional directors of public health in October 2001. General guidance "Planning for Major Incidents: The NHS Guidance" issued by the Department is now openly available on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/epcu/cbr/intro.htm with links to complementary guidance on dealing with key biological agents and investigating unusual illnesses on the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.co.uk/topics az/deliberate release/menu.htm. In addition, four specialties have been targeted for immediate training in dealing with the deliberate release of a biological agent: consultants in communicable disease, infectious disease physicians, clinical microbiologists/virologists and accident and emergency (A&E) physicians. Training has started and is being developed further. The Department has consulted with the relevant royal colleges concerning the training it is doing and with the British Infection Society. Training programmes have been devised for primary care trusts and general practitioners and are due to be piloted in Eastern region in early 2003.
	Specific training materials such as videos and information packs have also been prepared for occupational health physicians and other clinicians involved in implementation of the national smallpox plan which is available on the Department's website.

Bio-terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he is giving to the public on action in the event of a terrorist attack using biological agents.

John Hutton: Advice about key biological agents is available to the public on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/epcu/cbr/intro.htm with links to complementary guidance on the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.co.uk/topics az/deliberate release/menu.htm. Information leaflets concerning the deliberate release of smallpox, plague, anthrax, tularaemia and botulism have been prepared and will be made available to the public in the event of any outbreak. The Department is working across government to develop further public information. A wide range of techniques is being considered to find the most effective way to convey information to the public, such as posters and the internet, to help people maintain vigilance and prepare for the consequences of terrorist acts.

Cancelled Operations

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many planned operating lists at (a) the Alexandra hospital, Redditch and (b) the Worcestershire Royal infirmary were cancelled due to staff shortages between 23 December 2002 and 3 January 2003.

David Lammy: No planned lists were cancelled at Worcestershire Royal hospital, and only two operations from the 23 planned were cancelled during this period at the Alexandra hospital. These were cancelled as a result of an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting resulting in a loss of bed capacity, not due to staff shortages.

Chiropody

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response the Department has made to the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists' report of 6 December.

John Hutton: The Department has not issued a formal response to the document "NHS Chiropody/Podiatry Services—Cause for Continuing Concern, Time for Government Action", issued by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists.
	However, I wrote to the chairman of the Society on 27 January, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants have been employed by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in each of the last five years, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

David Lammy: The Department takes any misuse of its information technology systems very seriously. All staff are regularly reminded of the Department's policy on misuse of IT, with detailed guidance contained in the document Acceptable Use of Information Technology available on the Department of Health Intranet.
	The table shows the total recorded cases of computer misuse within the central Department of Health. A more detailed breakdown of these figures is not available. Management checks indicate only a small number of the breaches involve inappropriate content.
	
		
			 Type of misuse 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Totals 
		
		
			 Internet 20 21 15 — 1 57 
			 E-mail 1 2 9 4 10 26 
			 Internet and e-mail 2 — 2 — — 4 
			
			 Total number of cases 23 23 26 4 11 87 
			
			 Disciplinary Action Taken 22 22 26 4 11 85

Correspondence Protocol

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he will provide to health authorities and NHS trusts on observing the requirements of the protocol of the administrative court that public bodies must reply to all correspondence over disputed matters in 14 days.

John Hutton: holding answer 17 December 2002
	The Pre-Action Protocol for potential judicial review claims stipulates that public bodies exercising a judicial function should respond to letters before action in an instance where judicial review is threatened within 14 days. National health service organisations' duty to follow the Protocol requires no further guidance from the Department, and as statutory bodies, they will need to consult their own legal advisers on how to proceed in each case. However, compliance with the Protocol and with other statutory bodies forms part of the requirements set out in 'Improvement, Expansion and Reform', the NHS planning and priorities framework for 2003–06.

Departmental Offices (Running Costs)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the running costs were of his Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff, in each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02.

David Lammy: The running costs for Ministers' private offices for the financial years 1997–98 to 2001–02 are shown in the table.
	
		£000 
		
			 Year Staff Non staff Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,385 464 1,849 
			 1998–99 1,564 580 2,144 
			 1999–2000 1,983 670 2,653 
			 2000–01 2,323 624 2,947 
			 2001–02 2,242 634 2,876 
		
	
	Note
	Private Office Expenditure
	An additional Minister was appointed during 1999–2000. The data is taken from the Department's Accounts system and is in cash terms. The salaries of Ministers themselves are not included.

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcome was of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council held on 3 December; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health represented the United Kingdom for the Health element of the first day of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council in Brussels on 2 December 2002; the consumer affairs items were also taken on that day.
	The main health business of this Council related to tobacco. The Council reached qualified majority on a First Reading Deal on the Tobacco Advertising Directive. He emphasised that the UK supports European Union legislation on tobacco advertising, having strong domestic legislation in place. He made clear the Government's determination to ensure the legal victories secured by the tobacco companies over previous European legislation would not be repeated with this Directive. He therefore voted against the Directive because he did not think that the drafting of some provisions was good enough or that it went as far as it could in some areas (for example by not covering cigarette papers).
	A Council Recommendation on the prevention of smoking and on initiatives to improve tobacco control was adopted by a qualified majority, with support from the UK. The Commission also gave an update on the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
	Member States set out their positions on the pharmaceuticals reviews with a discussion on three key outstanding issues in the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) Regulation. There was no vote on this item. On scope, the UK was amongst several Member States who spoke out against extension of the centralised procedure for human medicines, and in favour of a choice for companies. Others supported the Commission. Most felt that Member States should appoint at least one member to the management board. Many were willing to consider also accepting representatives of patient groups or the European Parliament. A majority of Member States and the Commission were able to accept the Presidency compromise of a single renewal of an authorisation after five years.
	Council adopted a Recommendation on the prevention and reduction of risks associated with drug dependence. Council Conclusions on action against obesity were adopted unanimously. The UK voted in favour of both of these items.
	The Presidency presented a progress report on negotiations on a Directive setting standards of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human cells and tissues. The Commission said that they would look carefully at the changes in scope the Council was proposing in relation to the medicinal products and medical devices Directives.
	The Commission updated the Council on the high level process of reflection on patient mobility and health care development, and on the programme of co-operation on bioterrorism and health security. The Commission will be tabling a proposal to set up a network centre for disease control in May 2003, to be set up in 2005. The aim is to enhance the EU capacity to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, working closely with Member States' own institutions.
	The Commission reported that it had established a working group, to consider the quality of information on internet sites in the health sector. The group, consisting of representatives from government, Non-Government Organisations and industry, has reported and agreed actions including measures on transparency, privacy and accountability. The Commission will monitor work through the E-Europe 2005 ActionPlan.
	Items under any other business included an information paper from Ireland on post-polio syndrome. There was also a brief discussion on the follow-up to the G10 initiative on the pharmaceutical industry. A Commission communication, was under preparation, and should issue in May 2003. Italy announced they would have an Informal Ministerial meeting on this during their Presidency. Finally, there was a presentation from Belgium on their candidate for the Director-Generalship of the WHO, Peter Piot.
	The consumer part of the Council met with minimal discussion over a short agenda.
	The Council adopted a Resolution on Community consumer policy strategy 2002–06 without debate, endorsing the aims and objectives of the Commission's strategy as published in May 2002, namely a high common level of consumer protection, effective enforcement and the involvement of consumer organisations. The UK voted in favour, as did all other Member States.
	The Council and the Commission endorsed the Presidency's conclusions on a joint Commission-UK seminar held in November on using consumer statistics to inform and prioritise consumer policy. In accordance with the conclusions, the Commission will take forward technical work on definitions and the comparability of consumer statistics.
	As an information point only, the Council took note of a Commission presentation on the preliminary results of the European Extra-Judicial Network (EEJ-Net), the EU network of clearing houses designed to facilitate and resolve cross-border, out-of-court consumer disputes.
	Finally, Greece informed the Council that it wanted to contribute to the consumer agenda during its forthcoming Presidency by strengthening its involvement in the internal market. It highlighted in particular a seminar on the Commission's Green Paper of 2003, and a Ministerial conference on unfair trading to be held on 7 May 2003.

Empty Homes

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many empty homes his Department (a) had five years ago and (b) has now, by region; if he will establish an empty homes strategy within his Department; and if he will set a target for reduction in empty homes.

David Lammy: The Department has no residential accommodation on the administrative estate, empty or otherwise.
	Five years ago, the Department was in the process of disposing of the St. Charles Youth Treatment Centre, Brentwood, which included nine houses and eight flats that were empty. The site, including the housing, was eventually transferred to the Home Office for re-use within Government.
	No information about residential accommodation owned by National Health Service trusts or primary care trusts in England is currently held that could answer this question, although a database of residential accommodation available for NHS staff in London has been built.
	A survey of the NHS residential estate was last conducted in September 1998, which showed that there were 895 houses and flats vacant at that time. This was however a snapshot in time, and does not take account of units being held back for occupancy within a short time, as might be expected in a managed portfolio in periods of high staff turnover.
	NHS Estates produced 'Sold on Health' (2000), which highlights opportunities to improve management of the NHS healthcare estate and new ways of driving out surplus estate and getting best value from the whole asset lifecycle.
	The NHS housing initiative was established in April 2000 to tackle the problem of a lack of affordable accommodation for health workers on moderate incomes.
	The NHS Plan announced, in July 2000, a target to deliver an additional 2,000 units of affordable accommodation for nurses in London by July 2003.
	The initiative extends to cover the south east of England and other areas of high property prices throughout the country.

Green Minister

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Minister in his Department is the nominated Green Minister; how often he has attended meetings of the Green Ministers; and which official has responsibility for the DEFRA rural proofing check-list in his Department.

David Lammy: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Ms Blears) is the nominated Green Minister in the Department of Health.
	It is established practice under Exemption 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of the Cabinet and its committees-such as Ministerial attendance at committees.
	Officials in the Department's policy and planning directorate have lead responsibility for co-ordinating rural proofing activity in the Department of Health.

Homeless People

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance is given to homeless people to have access to a nutritionally balanced diet.

Hazel Blears: The Homelessness Directorate within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are working with the Department of Health and the clinical practitioners and health visitors association to improve access to and raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy diet.

Homeless People

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department takes by way of partnership agreements with other Departments to improve the health care needs of homeless people.

Hazel Blears: Vulnerable groups—including homeless people—have been identified as a key priority in the Government's cross-cutting review on health inequalities. In the review, Departments across Government gave commitments to take action where their programmes, policies and resources can make an impact on inequalities, including for vulnerable groups. A forthcoming All-Government delivery plan on health inequalities will set out how Departments' commitments will translate into action; the Department will drive forward the implementation of that plan.

Hospital Food

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the nutritional standards of hospital food for (a) adults, (b) children and (c) vulnerable elderly people.

Hazel Blears: The Better Hospital Food programme has been designed to improve both the quality and availability of food for all patients through, amongst other things, the introduction of a 24-hour catering service and the provision of additional daily snacks.
	Hospitals should have available to them expert dietetic advice, which should be called upon when designing hospital menus to ensure they meet the need of all patients. Additionally the essence of care, issued by the Chief Nursing Officer in 2001, highlights the importance of nutritional screening to identify patients who are at risk.
	The National Health Service recipe book, issued in May 2001, sets out the minimum standards to be provided by hospitals and also provides additional guidance on meeting the nutritional needs of children, elderly and long stay patients as well as those requiring food with modified consistency. There is additionally guidance on common therapeutic diets.
	A guidance document on providing catering services to children and young adults is due to be issued to the NHS shortly.

Hospital Fractures

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people experienced bone fractures while being cared for in NHS hospitals in each of the last five years; and how many of the injured persons died while still in hospital.

David Lammy: The Department does not collect this information centrally. In-patient central records monitor why a patient has entered a hospital, but do not necessarily record subsequent changes to the reason they are being cared for in hospital.
	However, the Government are concerned about national health service patients affected by adverse events, including bone fractures. It established the National Patient Safety Agency in July 2001 to improve the safety of NHS patient care by promoting an open and fair culture and by introducing a national reporting and learning system for adverse events. It is planned for the system to be rolled out across the NHS from summer 2003. The reporting and learning system will, in time, enable us to understand the nature and extent of adverse events in the NHS, including bone fractures and take action to prevent them being repeated.
	In addition, the national service framework for older people requires the NHS to take action to prevent falls and reduce resultant fractures or other injuries to older people.

HPA

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions are taking place about the future pension situation for HPA employees after 1 April; and when he expects these to be concluded.

Hazel Blears: The intention is for transferring staff to be able to retain membership of their existing pension scheme. As a special health authority, the Health Protection Agency will be able to admit existing and new staff to the NHS occupational pension scheme.
	The current Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 statutory regulations do not cover occupational pension schemes. If for any reason it were not possible for individuals to retain their membership of their existing pension scheme, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure that staff retain broadly comparable pension arrangements in the future. Advice is being sought from the Government Actuary's Department and if appropriate to seek a certificate of comparability.

Inequality Review

David Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to address the community development aspects of the Tackling Inequality 2002 Cross-cutting Review.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 9 December 2002
	We will shortly be publishing an all Government delivery plan for tackling health inequalities. This will set out priorities for action across Government including local Government and in the national health service, in partnership with the community, voluntary and business sectors and will address the community development aspects of tackling health inequalities.

Kava-kava

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library (a) the discussion paper that the Medicines Control Agency used to provide the framework from which risk management options have been considered regarding kava-kava, (b) the information used to assess the economic impact of the various regulatory options considered by the Medicines Control Agency regarding kava-kava and (c) the Medicines Control Agency risk analysis for kava-kava on the viability risk management options other than banning kava-kava;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library data used by the Medicines Control Agency in considering the safety of kava-kava that relates to potential enzyme induction caused by (a) kava-kava and (b) registered medicines in association with kava-kava in adverse reaction case reports;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library the Medicines Control Agency's (a) risk benefit analysis in relation to kava-kava, (b) supporting documents and (c) expert advice;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library correspondence and submissions (a) sent to and (b) received by the Medicines Control Agency regarding the regulating of kava-kava.

Hazel Blears: I am placing in the Library of the House copies of the following documents: the Medicines Control Agency's letters to interest groups about kava-kava; a summary of the responses received in response to the Agency's public consultation (ML" 286); copies of responses to the consultation received where permission has been received from the author; papers considered by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and by the Medicines Commission; minutes of the meetings of the CSM held on 12 December 2001, 10 July 2002 and 16 October 2002; minutes of the meeting of the CSM's working group held on 12 March 2002; the final regulatory impact assessment (RIA).
	Some of the papers considered by the advisory committees have been anonymised under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, as have parts of the minutes of meetings, under exemptions 10, 13, 14 and 15 of the code.
	Minutes of the Commission's meeting of 7 November 2002 will be placed in the Library once the minutes have been formally ratified by the Commission. This is expected in February.
	We will review all other documents sent and received by the MCA relating to kava-kava to assess what, if any information is subject to non disclosure under the code and seek permission for disclosure from external parties where necessary. The main categories into which these additional documents fall include: factual advice sought from and given by the MCA following inquiries from a wide range of external parties, including members of the public, about the regulatory position of kava-kava and the progress of consideration of safety issues; legal advice sought by and given to the MCA; factual information exchanged between the MCA and the Food Standards Agency, other Government Departments, regulatory authorities elsewhere in the European Union, papers reflecting policy advice to and discussion with Ministers. Some of these categories of information will be exempt from disclosure under the code.
	In relation to kava-kava medicines with a marketing authorisation, exemptions 10, 13 and 15 of the code apply. This information remains confidential and publication would be premature while the issues are still under consideration; however, the advice will be published (some papers may be anonymised) once a regulatory decision has been made.

MMR

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations and restrictions apply to the import of the single (a) rubella, (b) measles and (c) mumps vaccine; and what the licensing arrangements are for each.

Hazel Blears: Single rubella vaccine and single measles and mumps vaccines are licensed in the United Kingdom. However, the pharmaceutical companies that hold the UK marketing authorisations for single measles and mumps vaccines do not manufacture the products for, or market them in, this country and the vaccines being prescribed and administered are imported unlicensed medicines. Licensed single rubella vaccine is currently available in the UK. However, unlicensed rubella vaccine may also be imported on occasions when the licensed vaccine is unavailable.
	An unlicensed medicine, such as a single vaccine, may only be imported in accordance with The Medicines (Standard Provisions for Licences and Certificates) Amendment Regulations 1999 No. 4. An importer must hold the appropriate Wholesale Dealer's or Wholesale Dealer's Import Licence issued by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), and is required to notify the MCA on each occasion that they intend to import such a product. Importation may proceed unless the importer has been informed by the MCA that it objects to importation. The MCA may object and prevent importation if it has concerns about the safety or quality of the product, or if there is an equivalent licensed medicine available. The maximum quantity that may be imported per notification is defined in the regulations.

NHS (Private Sector Treatments)

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust's expenditure on NHS patients treated surgically in the private sector was between 23 December 2002 and 3 January 2003.

David Lammy: Approximately £100,000 was spent by the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust on treatments for NHS patients in private hospitals in Halesowen, Droitwich and Worcester during the period.

NHS Hospitals (Tendering)

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the private companies on the Government's register of expertise for tendering to run NHS hospitals have experience in managing emergency services; and what safeguards are in place to prevent these firms recruiting the best managers from the NHS.

David Lammy: The independent panel set up by the National Health Service Appointments Commission assessed the general ability of each private sector organisation to run a hospital trust. The expertise and experience of every organisation which tenders for a NHS franchise will be thoroughly and rigorously assessed before any contract is awarded. The Government's aim is for the best managers from either the public or private sectors to be put into franchised hospitals to help turn around their performance.

NHS Hotmail System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the specification for the NHS hotmail system being developed by EDS.

Hazel Blears: A copy of the output base specification for email and directory services has been placed in the Library.

NHS Trusts (Powers of Direction)

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what direction he has given to NHS trusts in the last three months; and if he will make a statement on his powers of direction to (a) NHS trusts and (b) foundation trusts.

John Hutton: There have been no instances over the past three months where my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has used his powers of intervention to give direction to a particular trust.
	As set out in A Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts (paragraph 1.11), national health service trusts will not be subject to Secretary of State powers of direction.

Parking Charges (Hospitals)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospitals in England charge for parking for (a) visitors, (b) medical staff and (c) medical staff at discounted rates.

John Hutton: This information is not held centrally. It is a matter for individual hospitals to decide whether or not to charge for car parking and the cost of such charges in the light of local circumstances. Where charges are introduced, patients who are eligible to claim reimbursement of travelling expenses under the hospital travel costs scheme may have the charges reimbursed.

Patients (Homelessness)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in NHS hospitals were homeless in each year between 1997–98 and 2000–01, broken down by health authority.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 27 January 2003
	Information on the total inpatient admissions to national health service hospitals in English health authorities for 1997–98 to 2000–01, where the address is classified as 'no fixed abode' has been placed in the Library.

Pregnant Women

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision (a) has been made and (b) is planned to support pregnant mothers engaged in (i) alcohol and (ii) substance abuse and to protect their unborn children from such abuse.

Hazel Blears: Midwives provide the majority of care for pregnant mothers as well as advice and support on healthy lifestyles including alcohol and substance misuse. Specialist staff may also be attached to antenatal clinics.
	The Department produces health promotion resources which are targeted at pregnant women to reduce drinking and increase awareness of risk to the unborn child, e.g., Drinking for two. A recent survey indicated that 30 per cent. of women gave up drinking during pregnancy and around 70 per cent. of those who did drink, drank less than one unit per week on average.
	Specialist alcohol treatment services provide support and treatment for people with more serious alcohol problems, including pregnant women. There are around 475 specialist alcohol treatment services in England, providing treatment worth approximately £95 million per year.
	Obstetric and substance misuse services exist throughout the country. The Department of Health's Drug Misuse and Dependence—Guidelines on Clinical Management (Clinical Guidelines) recommends different approaches to deliver care to pregnant drug misusers, such as specialist midwives, or drug dependence staff attached to the antenatal clinic. The type of service in each area will depend on local circumstances, the number of pregnant drug misusers presenting for care, expertise of the obstetric and primary care services, and availability of specialist or shared-care support. Further information is available at http://www.doh.qov.uk/druqs/pdfs/dmfull.pdf

Primary Care Trust Chair Salaries

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average salary was for chairs of primary care groups in England in the year to 31 October 2002;
	(2)  what the average salary is of (a) primary care group and (b) primary care trust chairpersons in England.

John Hutton: holding answer 27 January 2003
	There are no longer any primary care groups in existence. The current average annual remuneration for primary care trust chairs is £12,600. All non-executives on PCT boards receive £5,294 per annum.

Primary Care Trusts

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the extent to which the new national health service funding formula for primary care trusts is governed by rural factors.

John Hutton: The new national health service funding formula takes account of a wide range of health and socio-economic factors associated with the need for health care.
	In calculating health need in rural areas the new formula takes account of the effects of access, transport and poverty.
	The new formula provides a better measure of health need in all areas.

Private Health Schemes

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 2 December 2002, Official Report, column 619W, on private health schemes, if it would interfere with the duties of an NHS body if it allowed the use of beds by private health care funded patients for operations for which there is a waiting time longer than three months for NHS patients.

John Hutton: It is for national health service bodies themselves to determine whether it is permissible and appropriate to offer private patient services in the light of relevant local circumstances.

Residential Care Homes (Top-up Fees)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards top-up fees for patients in residential care homes.

Jacqui Smith: When a local council supports individuals in care homes, it should provide and fund accommodation sufficient to meet resident's assessed needs. Residents should only contribute to care costs according to the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and neither they nor third parties should be asked to make top-up payments in addition to the resident's assessed contribution in order to meet assessed needs.
	Furthermore, council supported residents may not top-up from their own resources for more expensive accommodation than the council would normally pay for to meet assessed need unless they have a deferred payment agreement or are subject to the 12-weeks property disregard.
	Otherwise, a resident can still opt for more expensive accommodation as long as they have a third party such as a friend or a relative who is willing make up the difference on their behalf. In order to agree a third party top-up agreement the local council needs to be satisfied that the third party has sufficient resources in order to continue to make the additional contribution on behalf of the resident.

Silicone Cosmesis (Artificial Limbs)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answers of 7 November 2002, Official Report, column 542W, and 27 November 2002, Official Report, column 356W, on NHS funding of silicone cosmesis for artificial limbs, if he will list the sums allocated to individual (a) health authorities and (b) primary care trusts in (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03 out of the £0.5 million and £1.5 million baseline allocations made respectively for those years.

David Lammy: holding answer 27 January 2003
	Allocations to individual health authorities and primary care trusts in 2001–02 and 2002–03 did not separately identify sums for silicone cosmesis.

Smallpox Vaccinations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what advice he is giving to the public regarding smallpox vaccinations;
	(2)  what plans he has to make smallpox vaccinations available to the public.

John Hutton: There are no plans to vaccinate the whole population as a contingency measure against the threat of a bio-terrorist incident involving smallpox. Mass vaccination of the population could be justifiable if there was a smallpox attack or outbreak but it would not be acceptable to expose people to the risk of vaccination in the absence of any possible exposure to the smallpox virus. This is consistent with the approach recommended by the World Health Organisation.
	Smallpox vaccine has a much higher rate of serious complications than vaccines that are in regular use today. Certain groups are at even higher risk, such as those with weak immune systems or with severe eczema.
	We have already announced that a small number of key frontline national health service staff and a small number of military personnel who would provide the first response in the event of a confirmed, suspected or threatened release of smallpox will be vaccinated shortly. We are discussing with other Government Departments how to identify key workers in the emergency services and agreeing circumstances and timing under which they might be vaccinated.
	Our contingency plans for dealing with smallpox are detailed in the draft guidelines on smallpox available on http://www.doh.gov.uk/epcu/cbr/biol/smallpoxplan.htm.

Speech Therapists

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the ratio of speech therapists to population is in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK as a whole;
	(2)  how many speech therapists are working in Coventry.

David Lammy: holding answer 28 January 2003
	The latest available information is shown in the table. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available, so England figures have been used.
	
		NHS hospital and community services (HCHS): qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff rates per 100,000 population within the speech and language therapy area of work for Coventry health authority, West Midlands regional office area and England as at 30 September 2001
		
			  Numbers of staff Rate per 100,000 population  
			  Whole-time equivalents Headcount Whole-time equivalents Headcount 
		
		
			 England 4,207 5,685 8.6 11.6 
			 of which: West Midlands 446 576 8.5 10.9 
			 of which: Coventry HA 33 41 11 13.6

Statutory Instruments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many statutory instruments have been issued by his Department in each calendar year since 1979.

David Lammy: The Department of Health was formed in July 1988. Information for the period between July 1988 and December 1998 could be provided only at disproportionate cost, but is available on the website of Her Majesty's Stationery Office at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/stat.htm and in the Library.
	Information for the years 1999–2002 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of Statutory Instruments issued 
		
		
			 1999 170 
			 2000 216 
			 2001 399 
			 2002 392

Tuberculosis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2002 ref: 83330, how much his Department spent on educating the public about prevention and awareness of turberculosis in each year since 1997; and what form this year's Awareness campaign took.

Hazel Blears: Approximately £43,000 was spent annually on tuberculosis awareness campaigns between 1997–98 and 2000–01.
	In 2001–02, £309,178 was spent on a campaign which incorporated press, television and radio advertising as well as the distribution of leaflets and posters throughout England in English, Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Somali and Russian. £80,821 has been spent so far in 2002–03 in support of this campaign.

Worcestershire Health Economy

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assumptions were made in the service and financial framework for the Worcestershire health economy for 2002–03 in terms of (a) anticipated additional allocations from the Department of Health during the financial year and (b) the uplift for GP prescribing budgets; if these assumptions were in line with the external advice available to those preparing the framework; and who approved the final service and financial framework.

David Lammy: Worcestershire health authority received an increase of £34.630 million to its revenue resource allocation, a 9.68 per cent. increase on the total 2001–02 allocation, in 2002–03.
	The assumptions made in the 2002–03 service and financial framework by Worcestershire health authority (HA), which co-ordinated the process, were:
	There were no anticipated additional allocations from the Department of Health during the financial year. However, there was an assumption made of slippage in-year of £2.5 million, i.e., allocations received in 2002–03 but against which expenditure would not be incurred recurrently until future years. This forecast slippage was at the same level as previous years.
	The uplift for primary care prescribing costs assumed by Worcestershire health authority was 11 per cent. on the 2001–02 forecast outturn of these costs. This was in line with national guidance. The HA also proposed making efficiency savings of 3.6 per cent., giving a net increase of 7.4 per cent. As required by national guidance, where prescribing costs efficiency savings were planned, this was supported by an action plan prepared by the HA.
	The chief executive designate for the new strategic health authority (StHA) played an active part in the local discussions and agreements with primary care groups and national health service trusts, and agreement of service and financial frameworks (SaFFs) was an important element of the franchise plan for the chief executive of the StHA.
	In addition the Department of Health, both at regional office and national levels, had an overseeing role for the whole SaFF process in particular and to ensure that all key targets were planned to be met.

Working Time Directive

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to each acute trust in the NHS of the introduction of the European Working Time Directive; how many extra staff he estimates will be required as a result of the application of the directive; how many have so far been recruited; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) has applied to the majority of national health service staff since October 1998. The EWTD will be extended to doctors in training from August 2004, initially with a maximum of 58 hours per week, reducing to 48 in 2009.
	The Department has not collected figures on a trust-by-trust basis, as work force planning of this kind is the responsibility of local trusts. However, the Department's guidance makes clear that compliance with the EWTD will be achieved only by trusts employing a wide range of solutions and maximising the skills and experience of their whole workforce. This is part of the bigger challenge of modernising the NHS and the guidance will help contribute to finding solutions that work in different specialties, in different hospitals.
	The guidance also makes clear that changes to the working practices of both medical and non-medical staff, and building on the increases in consultant and specialist registrars, will allow trusts to meet their objectives under the Directive.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum (Ports of Entry)

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase the percentage of applications for asylum at ports of entry.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 January 2003
	In order to give advance publicity to the implementation of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, I made a Ministerial Statement on 28 November 2002 and issued a press release on the same day. The press release was issued to foreign media in this country and those abroad in countries where we receive a high number of asylum applicants. A further press release was issued on 7 January 2003, and this triggered extensive media coverage here within the UK.
	In addition, posters advertising the change in policy have been displayed in the arrivals hall at the major ports and airports since 10 December 2002. Copies of the posters have also been displayed in Voluntary Sector Offices, such as Migrant Helpline and the Refugee Action Project.

Asylum Appeals

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum appeals (a) between 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 and (b) since 1 April 2002 have been (i) lodged and (ii) heard; how many of these appeals have been refused; and, in relation to these refusals, how many applications for judicial review have been lodged.

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the table. Appeal outcomes in any given time period do not necessarily relate to appeals lodged in the same period.
	
		Asylum appeals determined by adjudicators of the Immigration Appellate Authority, excluding dependants, April 2001 to September 2002(9)
		
			 Number of principal appellants Appeals determined by adjudicators 
			 Allowed(12) Dismissed(12) Withdrawn(12)  
			  Appeals received by Home Office(10) Appeals received by IAA(11) Total determined(11) Total As % of total dismissed Total As % of total dismissed Total As % of total dismissed 
		
		
			 April 2001 to March 2002 63,900(13) 51,730 47,015 9,640 21% 36,365 77% 1,010 2% 
			 April 2002 to September 2002 24,100(13) 32,500 33,785 7,385 22% 25,540 76% 855 3% 
		
	
	(9) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers might not add up due to rounding.
	(10) Appeals received based on electronic sources.
	(11) Based on information supplied by the Lord Chancellor's Department. Determinations do not necessarily relate to appeals received in the same period.
	(12) Based on data supplied from the Presenting Officers Unit within the Home Office.
	(13) Estimate. Figures rounded to the nearest hundred, and subject to later revision.
	In the calendar year 2001 there were 2,210 applications for leave to move for judicial review. 13 per cent. of the 2,300 decisions in the calendar year 2001 granted leave to move. Information is unavailable for the periods requested. Applications for leave to move for Judicial Review do not necessarily relate to appeals refused by the Immigration Appellate Authority in the same period. The figures exclude further appeals to the Tribunal and the House of Lords.
	Asylum statistics are published quarterly. The latest published figures give information up to and including September 2002. The next publication giving figures up to and including December 2002 will be available from 28 February 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum Appeals

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants under the expedited appeals process have received (a) legal advice and assistance in preparing their asylum appeal and (b) legal representation at the appeal hearing.

Beverley Hughes: The expedited appeals process commenced in August 2002 and ended when the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 was commenced in November 2002, and non-suspensive appeals came into force for the 10 EU accession countries.
	Over 160 (rounded to the nearest five) appeals were dealt with under this process. All expedited appeal claimants passed through the Oakington fast track process and had access to on site legal advice from the Refugee Legal Centre or Immigration Advisory Service. Procedures were put in place to ensure the availability of legal advice once the claimants left Oakington and were detained pending determination of their appeal.
	Asylum statistics are published quarterly and are available on the Home Office Research and Development and Statistics Directorate website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum Seekers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were refused in an initial decision in each year since 1997; and how many of these were subsequently allowed on appeal.

Beverley Hughes: The tables show the number of asylum applicants refused in an initial decision in each year from 1997 to 2001 and the number of appeals allowed in each of those years.
	
		Initial asylum decisions in the United Kingdom(14) by year 1997–2001
		
			 Number of principal applicants 
			   Cases considered under normal procedures(16) Backlog clearance exercise(17)  
			  Initial decisions(15) Granted asylum Granted ELR Refused Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria Refused under backlog criteria(18) 
		
		
			 1997 36,045 3,985 3,115 28,945 — — 
			 1998 31,570 5,345 3,910 22,315 — — 
			 1999 33,720 7,815 2,465 11,025 11,140 1,275 
			 2000 109,205 10,375 11,495 75,680 10,325 1,335 
			 2001(19) 119,015 11,180 19,845 87,990 — — 
		
	
	(14) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = one or two.
	(15) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
	(16) Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
	(17) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
	(18) Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
	(19) Provisional data.
	Not all initial decisions to refuse an application result in an appeal. It is estimated that around 77 per cent. of refusals of applications made in 2001 resulted in an appeal, and that around a fifth of those appeals were allowed. The appeals allowed figures given in the following table do not necessarily relate to the refusals in the same year. These could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	
		
			  Appeals received by the Appeals Support Section(21) Appeals received by the IAA(22) Total determined(23) 
		
		
			 1997 20,950 22,385 21,090 
			 1998 14,320 15,440 25,320 
			 1999 6,615 7,775 19,460 
			 2000 46,4190 28,935 19,395 
			 2001(25),(26) 74,365 47,905 43,415 
		
	
	
		
			   Appeals determined by adjudicators  
			   Allowed  Dismissed  Withdrawn 
			  Total As % of total determined(24) Total As % of total determined(24) Total As % of total determined(24) 
		
		
			 1997 1,180 (6) 18,145 (86) 1,720 (8) 
			 1998 2,355 (9) 21,195 (84) 1,770 (7) 
			 1999 5,280 (27) 11,135 (57) 3,050 (16) 
			 2000 3,340 (17) 15,580 (80) 475 (2) 
			 2001(25),(26) 8,155 (19) 34,440 (79) 825 (2) 
		
	
	(20) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest five. Numbers might not add up due to rounding,
	(21) Figures for 1997 to 2000 are based on manual counts of data received in Appeals Support Section of the Home Office. Some cases are received elsewhere in the Home Office before being forwarded to ASS and so may be counted in a later month than when they arrived in the Home Office.
	(22) Figures for 1997 and 1995 represent the number of appeals sent to the IAA by the Home Office.
	(23) Based on information supplied by the Lord Chancellor's Department. Determinations do not necessarily relate to appeals received in the same period.
	(24) Percentages based on total determined excluding without foundation appeals referred to Secretary of State for further consideration. Based on data supplied by the Presenting Officers Unit within the Home Office (October 1999-December 2001).
	(25) Appeals received by the Appeals Support Section based on electronic sources.
	(26) Provisional figures.
	Asylum statistics are published quarterly. The latest published figures give information up to and including September 2002. The next publication giving figures up to and including December 2002 will be available from 28 February 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1 .html.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many asylum seekers have been denied asylum in the UK in the last 12 months; and what percentage have been deported;
	(2)  how many asylum seekers from Algeria have been denied asylum in the UK in the last 12 months; and what percentage have been deported.

Beverley Hughes: In the period October 2001 to September 2002, 84,625 initial decisions were made on asylum cases, of which 1,185 had been lodged by Algerian nationals. In this period, 56,025 cases were refused asylum and exceptional leave to remain (ELR), of which 1,125 were Algerian. This information relates to cases and therefore excludes dependants.
	Information on the number of these cases that were removed within the same period is not available except by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost. However, 10,300 principal asylum applicants were removed in this period. Estimates of principal asylum applicants removed show 110 Algerian nationals removed in the period October 2001 to June 2002. Corresponding data for the period July to September 2002 will be available following publication of the next quarterly asylum statistics.
	The number of asylum applications from Algerians increased between 1993 and 1995 from 275 to a peak of 1, 865.
	Information on the number of asylum decisions and removals is published quarterly on the Home Office website at . The next publication will be available from 28 February and will cover the final quarter of 2002.

Asylum Seekers

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Afghan nationals sought asylum in Britain in the last five years for which data is available; and were (a) accepted and (b) rejected in each year; and how many were returned to Afghanistan or third countries.

Beverley Hughes: The available data on applications and initial decisions are included in the table. However, data on initial decisions are independent of applications data, and do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.
	
		Applications received for asylum in the UK, excluding dependents, and initial decisions, for nationals of Afghanistan, 1997 to 2001 and January to September(27)
		
			 Year Applications(28) Total initial decisions(29) Cases considered under normal procedures(30) Backlog clearance exercise(31)  
			Grants of asylum Grants of ELR Total refusals Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria(32) Refused under backlog criteria 
		
		
			 1997 1,085 730 20 635 75 (27)— (27)— 
			 1998 2,395 1,600 35 1,500 65 (27)— (27)— 
			 1999 3,975 1,295 15 1,180 90 10 (27)— 
			 2000 5,555 2,590 375 695 1,515 10 (27)— 
			 2001 9,000 12,155 2,260 7,370 2,530 (27)— (27)— 
			 2002 6,035 6,910 80 4,565 2,265 (27)— (27)— 
		
	
	(27) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with "—" = 0.
	(28) May exclude some cases lodged at local enforcement offices between January 1999 and March 2000.
	(29) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
	(30) Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under backlog criteria.
	(31) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
	(32) Includes cases where asylum or Exceptional Leave to Remain has been granted under the backlog criteria.
	The latest available data on removals of Afghan nationals who have sought asylum at some stage are given in the table.
	
		Removals and voluntary departures of Afghan principal asylum applicants, excluding dependants(33)
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 40 
			 1998(35) 15 
			 1999 n/a 
			 2000 n/a 
			 2001(34),(35),(36) 125 
			 January to June 2002(35),(36) 235 
		
	
	(33) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action has been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	(34) Figure may include a small number of dependants leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes.
	(35) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
	(36) Provisional data.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	Data on applications in the period October to December 2002 and removals by nationality in the period July to September 2002 are due to be published at the end of February 2003 on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html

Asylum Seekers

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will exclude Silverlands at Chertsey, Surrey from consideration for accommodation for asylum seekers.

Beverley Hughes: Chertsey is not within a designated dispersal area for asylum seekers requiring accommodation. Similarly for the trial of accommodation centres we are looking to provide accommodation away from London and Kent.
	All adult asylum seekers will be required to attend an induction centre irrespective of whether they require support including accommodation. We are proposing a national network of induction centres and it is envisaged these will be up and running by the end of 2003. The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is currently considering options for accommodation to support the Induction Centre to meet the needs of asylum seekers arriving in London and the South East.

Asylum Seekers

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to use (a) hotels, (b) hostels and (c) country homes in Shropshire as induction centres to house asylum seekers.

Beverley Hughes: We are intending to have a national network of induction centres which are being introduced on a phased basis. To date we have opened one induction centre in Kent and are in the process of negotiating contracts for accommodation to support an induction centre for asylum seekers making their claim in London and the south east. The third phase of the project is to provide induction centres in regional areas. The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has invited expressions of interest from each regional consortium. The West Midlands consortium, which includes Shropshire, has expressed an interest but has indicated to NASS that it is not currently considering using any properties in Shropshire.

Asylum Seekers

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to monitor the impact of the withdrawal of asylum support for in-country applicants on asylum seekers in the UK.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 January 2003
	Under section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, those people who make their asylum claim as soon as reasonably practicable on arrival in the UK, will continue to receive the support they need. The Home Office is working in close consultation with local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to establish the best way in which the impact of the changes may be monitored on the ground.

Asylum Seekers

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what impact he estimates the withdrawal of asylum support for in-country applicants will have on the numbers of homeless people living in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 January 2003
	Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 prevents the provision of support to asylum seekers who do not make their asylum claim as soon as reasonably practicable on arrival at a port in the UK. The purpose of the new policy is to ensure that those wishing to seek asylum do so at the earliest opportunity. If this purpose is fulfilled, there is no reason to suppose that there will be an increase in the number of homeless people. Since 8 January 2003, when the new policy was introduced, there has been no indication of increased homelessness.

Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in each of the last five years, broken down by each category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

Hilary Benn: The figures, so far as information is available in the form requested, are as follows:
	
		Cases of computer misuse
		
			 Department 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Home Office (37)— 2 9 34 77 
			 Disciplinary Cases (37)— 2 8 30 (38)74 
			 Prison Service Agency (37)— (37)— 2 (37)— 3 
			 Disciplinary Cases (37)— (37)— 2 (37)— 3 
			 UK Passport Agency (37)— (37)— (37)— (37)— 1 
			 Disciplinary Cases (37)— (37)— (37)— (37)— 1 
			 Forensic Science Service (37)— 8 6 2 (39)43 
			 Disciplinary Cases (37)— 5 1 2 5 
		
	
	(37) Indicates that no comprehensive figures are available.
	(38) Figure includes some cases dealt with by local management.
	(39) Includes cases in which informal local action taken.

Criminal Records Bureau (Checks)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research was undertaken by (a) his Department and (b) Capita to determine the (i) likely level of demand for Criminal Records Bureau checks and (ii) Criminal Records Bureau customers' preferred means of submitting applications for checks.

Hilary Benn: Original research into the likely level of demand for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks was undertaken by the Home Office and CRB. Two comprehensive market research studies were carried out by Coopers Lybrand (1996) and Accent Market Research (March 2000) to determine who would use the service and what likely levels of take up were anticipated. These studies were validated by the Labour Force Survey carried out between September and November 1999. A telephone survey with existing checkers was carried out to validate the baseline information created from the above research. In December 2001, Capita Account Managers conducted their own research to determine which Registered Bodies were likely to be major users of the service and there is ongoing joint Capita and CRB forecasting work based on latest actual demand and outputs from a forecasting model.
	An analysis of legislation and its likely impact on CRB demand was also undertaken. The analysis looked at whether or not legislation would increase the number of sectors eligible for CRB checks or whether or not the impact would be neutral. It was determined that the outcome was likely to be neutral.
	The original concept for the CRB was based on a call-centre, telephone-based and online application route, with capacity to deal with individual paper applications. That arrangement was expected to be convenient for applicants and would reduce errors. It was also in line with the Government's e-government objectives. Market research was undertaken by Rosslyn Research in 2000 to establish employer's requirements in terms of service standards.
	However, during extensive consultation with registered bodies and employers from January to June 2001, there was strong pressure from them to introduce a full-scale paper-based application. Consequently, in May 2001, the CRB agreed to introduce more extensive capacity to deal with paper-based applications.

Departmental Expenditure (Newsprint)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure of his Department was on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002.

David Blunkett: The total expenditure for the Home Office and Agencies during 2002 was £45,292.81. This does not include expenditure by non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Collection of this data could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Performance Report

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department's autumn performance report for 2002 will be published.

David Blunkett: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Howard Flight) on 21 January 2003, Official Report, column 302W.

External Consultancies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The information is not available in the format requested. Total expenditure figures on consultants by Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) for the period in question and also planned expenditure by core Home Office Directorates and its Agencies in 2002–03 is not held centrally. Total expenditure on external consultants in each year from 1995–96 to 2001–02 for the core Home Office and its Agencies.
	
		£ 
		
			 Consultancy expenditure by the Home Department and Agencies 
			  Expenditure 
		
		
			 1995–96 10,200,000 
			 1996–97 11,804,984 
			 1997–98 7,627,016 
			 1998–99 4,588,445 
			 1999–2000 10,302,672 
			 2000–01 27,877,286 
			 2001–02 21,147,058 
		
	
	The increase in expenditure on consultancy in financial years 2000–01 and 2001–02 is primarily due to a major investment programme in the modernisation of the Home Office and in particular on IT related modernisation and also the cost of setting up the National Probation Directorate.

Extradition Cases

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on each extradition case in the last five years, broken down by individual case.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost.

Failed Asylum Seekers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers left the UK in each year since 1997, broken down by those (a) deported and (b) who left voluntarily.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of failed asylum applicants (a) removed; and (b) known to have left the United Kingdom voluntarily since 1997 is given in the table. It is not possible to separately identify the number of principal applicants who departed 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
	
		Principal asylum applicants removed from the UK(40)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001(41) (p) January to September 2002(42) (p) 
		
		
			 Total number of principal asylum applicants removed(43) 7,165 6,990 7,665 8,980 9,285 7,780 
			 Of which: 
			 Assisted voluntary returns programme(44) — — 50 550 980 640 
		
	
	(40) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants.
	(41) Removal figures exclude 1,495 dependants of asylum seekers removed in the period April to December 2001, of which 230 left under the assisted voluntary returns programme; data on dependants removed have only been collected since April 2001.
	(42) In the same period 1,825 dependants of principal asylum seekers departed, of which 185 left under the assisted voluntary returns programme.
	(43) Including persons known to have departed "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
	(44) Persons leaving under the assisted voluntary returns programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. May include some on-entry cases and some cases where enforcement action has been initiated.

Family Visitor Appeals

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the final report of the inter-departmental review of family visitor appeals.

Beverley Hughes: The report of the inter-departmental review group and the report of the research commissioned by that group have been delayed by unforeseen circumstances They will be published shortly. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library as promised.

Foster Deportation

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what times on (a) 1 December, (b) 2 December and (c) 3 December 2002, members of the press office at 10 Downing street held conversations with members of the press office at the Home Office regarding the deportation of Mr. Foster; which officials in the Downing street press office and in the Home Office press office took part in these conversations; and what the duration was of each such conversation.

David Blunkett: holding answer 20 January 2003
	The Home Office press office has regular daily contact with their opposite numbers at Downing street press office. Records of these conversations and their duration are not kept.

Full-time Equivalent Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in (a) the Department and (b) each of the agencies it sponsors; and what the figures were for 1997.

David Blunkett: Home Office staff figures in each region and nation of the UK are published in "Civil Service Statistics" year on year and placed in the Library.

Health and Safety

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether his Department and its agencies have met the commitment arising from Action Point 13 of the June 2000 Strategy statement on revitalising health and safety to summarise health and safety performance and plans in annual reports from the year 2001 onwards;
	(2)  what information he has collated on the application to his Department and its agencies of the checklist, circulated by letter by Sir Richard Mottram, referred to under Action Point 12 of the revitalising health and safety strategy statement; and if he will make a statement
	(3)  which senior officials within his Department and its agencies take responsibility for health and safety at board or equivalent level; and where their names are publicised.

Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Work and Pensions (Nicholas Brown) on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 85W.

Immigration

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what manpower complement is allocated by immigration services to each of the south coast ports; what his estimate is of how many persons entered through each port in the last year for which information is available; and what coverage is available for non-canalized ports of entry.

Beverley Hughes: The latest data on passenger arrivals that is available for public use is for 2001.
	For a meaningful comparison, a snapshot taken on 31 December 2001 shows the actual number of staff in post at the south coast ports of Dover East, Dover Hoverport, Felixstowe, Folkestone, Newhaven, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth and Southampton on that date was 404 full time equivalent officers, comprising of 356 immigration service staff and 48 administrative staff.
	The total number of passenger arrivals at south coast ports was 9,924,100. This figure is broken down as follows:
	
		
			 South Coast Port Number 
		
		
			 Dover East 6,340,000 
			 Dover Hoverport 944,000 
			 Felixstowe 55,200 
			 Folkestone 28,900 
			 Newhaven 169,000 
			 Plymouth 328,000 
			 Poole 140,000 
			 Portsmouth 1,620,00 
			 Southampton 299,000 
		
	
	Note
	Figures rounded to the nearest three significant digits.
	The UK Immigration Service conducts regular risk assessments of small ports not routinely staffed and there is continuous monitoring of arrivals including spot checks. The details of passengers subject to immigration control arriving at small ports, which are not routinely staffed by the Immigration Service, are still checked against the Warnings Index system.

Immigration

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2002, Official Report, column 988W, on immigration, whether the Reporting Line is still in operation; and when he will publish the evaluation of the trial.

Beverley Hughes: The trial of the confidential hotline ran from May to July 2002. I have remitted the recommendations of the evaluation back to officials for further details on cost and application. I undertook, in my response to the hon. member's most recent question on this subject, 20 January 2002, Official Report, column 183W, to write to the hon. member once these details have been considered. I will do so as soon as this consideration has taken place.

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the total expenditure by his Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad, in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley South (Douglas Alexander) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, Column 333W.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to bring into effect section 4 and section 76 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 27 January 2003
	Section 4 will be brought into force as soon as administrative arrangements for giving effect to the new appeal rights have been put into place. Section 76 will come into effect on 10 February.

New Prisons

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's proposed spending plans on new prison building in 2003–04.

Hilary Benn: Existing funding is being used to deliver a programme to increase prison capacity. This will conclude in 2003–04 when 450 places will become available at Birmingham prison. This completes a programme that planned to increase capacity by 2,660 places.
	Following the outcome of the recent Spending Review (SR 2002) the Government have committed further funding to increase prison capacity. By the end of 2003–04 it is intended that this will provide another 740 places across the prison estate.

Roma People

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many central and eastern European Roma he expects to migrate to the UK following the accession to the EU of (a) the Czech Republic, (b) Slovakia, (c) Hungary and (d) Poland.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 27 January 2003
	Research conducted by University College London for the Home Office, which will be published soon, suggests that the numbers of people who will migrate to the UK from the new member states will not be significant. This research corroborates a number of other independent studies which have looked at the scale of migration flows after enlargement. These have been summarised in reports by the European Commission in 2000 and the former Department for Education and Employment in 1999. None of this research has been able to predict exact numbers expected from specific countries or ethnic groups to the UK.

Whole-time Equivalent Staff

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the distribution of his Department's whole-time equivalent staff was, including the staff in agencies and other bodies reporting to him, in each Government office region and nation of the UK (a) in 1996 and (b) at the most recent available period.

David Blunkett: Home Office staff figures in each region and nation of the UK are published in "Civil Service Statistics" year on year and placed in the Library.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Departmental Performance Report

Tony Wright: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when her Department's autumn performance report for 2002 will be published.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight) on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 200W.

Grandchildren (Access)

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what rights grandparents have regarding access to their grandchildren.

Rosie Winterton: The Children Act 1989 requires that the court's paramount consideration must be the welfare of the child. Judges are guided by a list of factors set out in section 1(3) of the Act, known as the 'welfare checklist'. The court has the discretion to take into consideration all the facts and circumstances of the individual case when deciding any question concerning the child, including issues of contact and residence.
	Any person (including grandparents) may, provided that the permission of the court is obtained, apply to the court for an order for residence or contact with a child. This requirement is designed as an early filter for those applications the court feels would not to be in the best interests of the child. Experience suggests that grandparents (or other interested relatives) do not usually experience difficulty in obtaining permission where their application is motivated by a genuine concern for the child.

Grandchildren (Access)

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals she has to ensure that grandparents have increased legal rights of access to their grandchildren; and what other rights grandparents have in the event of family breakdown.

Rosie Winterton: The current requirement is for grandparents to obtain the leave of the court to issue an application for contact with grandchildren. Experience has shown that grandparents, or wider family members, do not usually experience difficulty in obtaining leave when the application is motivated by genuine concern for the child. Consequently, there are no plans to amend the Children Act 1989. In the event of a family dispute, any person, including grandparents, with a contact order can apply to the court to determine the implementation or variation of the existing order.

Magistrates Courts

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates courts have closed since May 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Decisions about magistrates court closures are made by independent Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs). MCCs are not required by statute to inform the Government of court closures.
	The best information indicates that the number of court closures is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1996 21 
			 1997 (45)21 
			 1998 25 
			 1999 7 
			 2000 13 
			 2001 33 
			 2002 5 
		
	
	(45) Five before May and 16 after May.
	Details are in the following table:
	
		
			  Date 
		
		
			 Bromley (South Street) 28 February 1996 
			 Mansfield (Commercial St) 28 February 1996 
			 Hornsea 31 March 1996 
			 Howden 31 March 1996 
			 Market Weighton 31 March 1996 
			 Old Street 12 July 1996 
			 Halstead 31 August 1996 
			 Biddulph 30 September 1996 
			 Cheadle 30 September 1996 
			 Kidsgrove 30 September 1996 
			 Tonbridge 31 October 1996 
			 Amlwch 31 December 1996 
			 Colwyn Bay 31 December 1996 
			 Bedale 31 December 1996 
			 Blaenau Festiniog 31 December 1996 
			 Easingwold 31 December 1996 
			 East Dereham 31 December 1996 
			 Ingleton 31 December 1996 
			 Leyburn 31 December 1996 
			 Llangollen 31 December 1996 
			 Thirsk 31 December 1996 
			 Ellesmere Port 31 March 1997 
			 Hampstead 31 March 1997 
			 Marylebone (185 Marylebone Rd) 31 March 1997 
			 Otley 31 March 1997 
			 Seaham 31 March 1997 
			 Bromsgrove 31 May 1997 
			 Ledbury 31 May 1997 
			 Hebburn 5 June 1997 
			 South Shields (Kepple Street) 5 June 1997 
			 Chippenham (Market Place) 30 June 1997 
			 Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Rd) 31 August 1997 
			 Duckinsfield 31 August 1997 
			 Thorne 31 August 1997 
			 Pontardawe 9 October 1997 
			 Braintree 31 December 1997 
			 Stokesley 31 December 1997 
			 Clacton on Sea 31 October 1997 
			 Bargoed 31 December 1997 
			 Monmouth 31 December 1997 
			 Pontlottyn 31 December 1997 
			 Pontypool 31 December 1997 
			 Malton 6 February 1998 
			 Marlborough Street 31 March 1998 
			 Bishop's Stortford 31 March 1998 
			 Hatfield 31 March 1998 
			 Hitchin 31 March 1998 
			 Market Rasen 31 March 1998 
			 Chertsey 31 March 1998 
			 Farnham 31 March 1998 
			 Oxted 31 March 1998 
			 Lutterworth 31 July 1998 
			 Ripon 1 August 1998 
			 Barnard Castle 31 December 1998 
			 Clerkenwell 31 December 1998 
			 Sheerness 31 December 1998 
			 West Malling 31 December 1998 
			 Lytham 31 December 1998 
			 Diss 31 December 1998 
			 Corwen 31 December 1998 
			 Felixstowe 31 December 1998 
			 Haverhill 31 December 1998 
			 Saxmundham 31 December 1998 
			 Stowmarket 31 December 1998 
			 Newmarket 31 December 1998 
			 March 31 December 1998 
			 Saffron Walden 31 December 1998 
			 Christchurch 31 March 1999 
			 Abingdon 31 March 1999 
			 Henley on Thames 31 March 1999 
			 Windsor 31 March 1999 
			 Morley 31 March 1999 
			 Pudsey 31 March 1999 
			 Stow on the Wold 30 June 1999 
			 Apmthill 1 January 2000 
			 Biggleswade 1 January 2000 
			 Dunstable 1 January 2000 
			 Leighton Buzzard 1 January 2000 
			 Lichfield 31 March 2000 
			 Keighley 1 April 2000 
			 Keswick 30 April 2000 
			 Windermere 31 May 2000 
			 Wigton 31 May 2000 
			 Appleby 31 May 2000 
			 Gravesend 9 June 2000 
			 Wootton Bassett 2 October 2000 
			 Abergele 31 December 2000 
			 Alfreton 1 January 2001 
			 Ashboume 1 January 2001 
			 Bakewell 1 January 2001 
			 Matlock 1 January 2001 
			 Leigh 31 March 2001 
			 Middleton 31 March 2001 
			 Leek 31 March 2001 
			 Worcester 31 March 2001 
			 Warrington Patten Hall 1 April 2001 
			 Macclesfield Park Green 1 April 2001 
			 Bideford 30 April 2001 
			 Exmouth 30 April 2001 
			 Kingsbridge 30 April 2001 
			 South Molton 30 April 2001 
			 Teignmouth 30 April 2001 
			 Tavistock 30 April 2001 
			 Axminster 4 May 2001 
			 Tiverton 4 May 2001 
			 Newquay 30 June 2001 
			 Southampton (Commercial Road) 31 August 2001 
			 Womborne 1 September 2001 
			 Gillingham 30 September 2001 
			 Bridlington 9 November 2001 
			 Brough 9 November 2001 
			 Driffield 9 November 2001 
			 Hull (Guildhall) 9 November 2001 
			 Hull (Lowgate) 9 November 2001 
			 Pocklington 9 November 2001 
			 Withernsea 9 November 2001 
			 Evesham 1 November 2001 
			 Droitwitch 1 November 2001 
			 Arundel 1 December 2001 
			 Bridgenorth 31 January 2002 
			 Leominster 31 January 2002 
			 Fakenham 1 May 2002 
			 Tunbridge Wells 2 June 2002 
			 Beaconsfield 1 July 2002 
			 Buckingham 1 July 2002 
			 Fakenham 1 May 2002 
			 Tunbridge Wells 2 June 2002 
			 Beaconsfield 1 July 2002

PRIME MINISTER

Al-Qaeda

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what his assessment is of the likelihood that (a) Al-Qaeda, (b) other terrorist groups and (c) Iraq might carry out an attack on the United Kingdom.

Tony Blair: The terrorist threat remains real, and serious. As recent events have shown, no country is immune from attack, and it simply is not possible to guarantee against more attacks in the future. However, this Government are resolute in their determination to defeat terrorism regardless of its source.

External Consultants

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (planned); and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today at column 855W.

Heritage Assets

David Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what sales of heritage assets and antique assets have been made by his Department since May 1997; if he will list such assets; and if he will estimate the total sales proceeds.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today.

Terrorism

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what independent advice he has received on the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom.

Tony Blair: Advice on any terrorist threat to the UK is the responsibility of the Security Service. The Director General of the Security Service is responsible to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary for this advice, which is provided on a continuous basis. Strategic assessments about terrorist threats to the UK are provided to the Government by the Joint Intelligence Committee.

SCOTLAND

Broadband

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  when she last met the Regional Broadband Unit to discuss the rollout of broadband services in Scotland.
	(2)  if she will make a statement on her Department's role in how the money awarded to Scotland from the UK Broadband Fund is to be spent.
	(3)  if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the development of broadband services for the benefit of (a) small businesses in rural areas and (b) consumers in rural areas.

Helen Liddell: The Scottish Executive is taking forward the rollout of broadband in Scotland with its strategy, 'Connecting Scotland our broadband future—Making it Happen', for accelerating and widening access, and for increasing take up across Scotland. Both the small business sector and rural consumers are recognised priorities.
	Scottish interests on the UK Broadband Taskforce, previously the Regional Broadband Unit, are represented by the Executive, which also negotiates directly with the Department of Trade and Industry on awards to Scotland from the UK Broadband Fund.

Electronics Industry

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment she has made of the future viability of the Scottish electronics industry.

Helen Liddell: Despite the global downturn in the electronics sector, Scotland retains a number of key competitive advantages which can give confidence that the sector will continue to play a key role in the Scottish economy. We have a skilled workforce, investment in world class science and technology and an innovative business base.

Ferry Services

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans she has to provide further financial support for ferry services between (a) Campbell town and Ballycastle and (b) Rosyth and Zeebrugge.

Helen Liddell: Decisions on financial support for the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service are a matter for the Scottish Executive. I have no plans to provide financial support for the Rosyth-Zeebrugge ferry service. The Scottish Executive provided funding by means of a Freight Facilities Grant to the port operator, Forth Ports plc, for improvements to the port infrastructure at Rosyth.

Industrial Action/Illness

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many working days have been lost in her Department due to (a) industrial action and (b) illness in (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99, (iii) 1999–2000, (iv) 2000–01, (v) 2001–02 and (vi) 2002–03 to date.

Helen Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. No days have been lost due to industrial action. Details of working days lost due to illness are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Dates Working days lost due to illness 
		
		
			 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2000 396 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 662.5 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 601.5 
			 1 April 2002 to 30 November 2002 479

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Infant Mortality

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what future funding plans the Medical Research Council has announced for research into reducing the number of baby deaths through (a) miscarriage, (b) premature birth, (c) still birth and (d) obstetrics.

Patricia Hewitt: The MRC does not, as a rule, earmark funds for particular topics. Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. When appropriate, high quality research in the areas MRC is promoting may be given priority in competition for funds, but research excellence and importance to health continue to be the primary considerations in funding decisions. The MRC has not announced any future funding plans for research into reducing the number of baby deaths, but it always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health.
	The MRC spent an estimated £19.1 million in 2001–02 on its Reproductive health portfolio. Reproductive health research includes normal and abnormal fetal and placental development and growth, as well as conditions affecting pregnancy and childbirth.

Advisory Group on Nanotechnology Applications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times the Advisory Group on Nanotechnology Applications has met since April 2001; what its budget is for financial years 2003–4 and 2004–5; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The Group met on four occasions and also communicated between these meetings. The Group has now completed its work and has no budget.
	DTI is currently finalising its policy on Nanotechnology and one of the steps will be to establish a Nanotechnology Strategic Advisory Group as a formal non-departmental public body.

Agency Workers Directive

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has conducted into the potential (a) financial impact and (b) impact on employment of the implementation of the agency workers' directive in its present form.

Alan Johnson: The Department of Trade and Industry held a 16-week public consultation into the proposal for a directive, and has published a regulatory impact assessment of the proposal which provides an assessment of the potential costs and benefits for the UK. I have placed a copy of this in the Library of the House.

Business Environment Simplifications Taskforce

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who have been members of the Business Environment Simplification Taskforce since its inception; what (a) expenses and (b) salary each received; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: The members of the European Commission's Business Environment Simplification Taskforce were as follows:
	Prof Chris Evans (Chairman) (UK)
	Dr Wolfgang Krebs (Austria)
	Ms Kathy Vanhoorne (Belgium)
	Mr Bjrn Meier (Denmark)
	Mr Risto Suominen (Finland)
	Mr Jean Prada (until 17/2/98) and Mr André Gauron (from 17/2/98) (France)
	Mr Dieter Philipp (Germany)
	Ms Antigone Lyberaki (Greece)
	Mr Dominic Ellickson (Ireland)
	Mr Carlo Borgomeo (Italy)
	Mr Armand Berchem (Luxembourg)
	Dr Elisabeth Steyger (Netherlands)
	Mr Rui Gomes (Portugal)
	Mrs Elisa Sainz Ruiz (Spain)
	Mrs Camille Forslund (Sweden)
	The Taskforce operated from October 1997 to April 1998, when it reported to the Commission. Details of whether the members were paid and the level of their expenses are not readily available from the European Commission.
	I refer the hon. Member to my statement of 13 July 2000, Official Report, column 620W in response to the then hon. Member for Southport, in which I welcomed the Taskforce's recommendations. My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby South, who was President of the Board of Trade at the time they were published, had also welcomed the recommendations, which addressed improving the business environment in public administration, education and training, employment and working conditions, finance and research and innovation. Those recommendations have helped Member States and the Commission in their continued endeavours to promote enterprise and ease burdens on companies, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises.

British Energy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money has been given to British Energy in each of the last five years; and what this money has been used for.

Brian Wilson: On 9 September 2002 the Government agreed to provide British Energy with a credit facility for up to £410 million in respect of its working capital requirements and cash collateral for trading in the UK and North America. On the 26 September 2002 the Government agreed to extend the credit facility and increase it from £410 million up to £650 million. As of 24 January 2003, £418 million of the facility has been drawn down.

Capital Expenditure (Energy)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the principal elements of planned (a) current and (b) capital expenditure for financial year 2002–03 on (i) post office and telecommunications, (ii) nuclear liabilities, (iii) aerospace, (iv) departmental capital and other minor programmes and (v) capital investment in energy as listed in tables 2 and 3 of her annual report for 2002–03 to 2003–04.Cm 5416; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The principal elements of planned expenditure in 2002–03 in these categories at the time of publication of the annual report (Cm 5416) are as follows:
	
		£ million 
		
			  (a) Current (b) Capital 
		
		
			 (i) Post Office and Telecommunications   
			 Modernisation of the Post Office network 70 — 
			
			 (ii) Nuclear Liabilities   
			 Decommissioning (non-cash) costs on UKAEA sites 84 — 
			 Decommissioning (non-cash) costs on BNFL sites 112 — 
			 Resource Consumption of UKAEA 20 — 
			 UKAEA net capital receipts — (7) 
			
			 (iii) Aerospace   
			 Net expenditure on the Government's portfolio of Launch Investment Contracts 75 22 
			 (iv) Departmental capital and other minor programmes 
			 National Physical Laboratory capital expenditure — 31 
			 Radiocommunications Agency capital expenditure — 12 
			
			 (v) Capital investment in Energy   
			 Renewable energy capital grant schemes — 163

Commercial Policy ( QMV)

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on the recommendation of Working Group VII of the European Convention that areas of commercial policy should be decided by Qualified Majority Vote.

Patricia Hewitt: I am giving full consideration to the Convention's deliberations in co-ordination with my Ministerial colleagues. Many areas of commercial policy are already decided by QMV. Further moves on commercial policy cannot be considered in isolation and the full implications of these proposals, including their impact on trade policy, will need to be understood before UK position is finalised.

Consultations

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list consultations her department has conducted since 2 May 1997; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed.

Patricia Hewitt: Records relating to consultation documents issued before the introduction of the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations on 1 January 2001 are not held centrally. The list of consultations undertaken by the Department since 1 January 2001, and the dates they were opened and closed, are placed in the Libraries of the House.

Correspondence

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale of 13 January, regarding redundancies announced by Clarks at K Shoes in Kendal.

Patricia Hewitt: A reply to your letter was sent on 28 January 2003.

Departmental Running Costs

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the running costs of (a) the Department and (b) each of its sponsored agencies were in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Patricia Hewitt: Detailed information on administration costs for the Department of Trade and Industry and its agencies, going back to 1998–99 and with projections to 2003–04, is set out in Table 5 of the 2002 departmental report (Cm 5416). Data for years before 1998–99 are not available on the same basis. Provisional outturn for gross and net administration costs limits were published in Public Expenditure 2001–02 Provisional Outturn (Cm 5574), Tables 4 and 5. Updated information, with plans to 2005–06, will be published in the 2003 departmental report in the spring.

Export Credits (Equitorial Guinea)

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made (a) of the availability of ECGD support for investment in Equatorial Guinea and (b) of the adequacy of such support in relation to the current level of opportunity for British business investment in Equatorial Guinea.

Patricia Hewitt: ECGD is able to offer Overseas Investment Insurance to protect UK direct investment in Equatorial Guinea against the risks of war, expropriation and restrictions on remittances. It will also consider approaches from UK exporters for cover under its "Good Projects" scheme which provides support for viable hard currency generating projects and relies on the use of structured finance techniques e.g. dedicated income streams and offshore escrow accounts.
	ECGD recognises increasing demand from UK investors in and exporters to Equatorial Guinea, and a review of its risk assessment and cover policy is scheduled for the spring, following completion of the IMF's latest assessment of Equatorial Guinea.

Export Promotion Support

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support is available for UK companies exhibiting abroad.

Patricia Hewitt: British Trade International supports UK companies wishing to exhibit at overseas trade fairs through the Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad (SESA) scheme. All UK businesses and organisations involved in exporting from the UK are eligible for support. Grant entitlement is currently limited to three participations in most countries (five in Japan, China (excluding Hong Kong), Russia and the USA).
	The basic level of grant for eligible participants is 60 per cent. of their expenditure on stand space and stand construction up to a maximum of £2,300.
	The scheme is over subscribed, resulting in restrictions on the number of exhibitions in the programme, and on the number of companies in each group. Estimated expenditure on supporting UK organisations exhibiting abroad during 2002–03 is £21 million.

Export Promotion Support

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support her Department gives to UK companies for the purpose of exchanging abroad; and what assessment she has made of support given by (a) France and (b) Germany to businesses based in those nations exhibiting abroad.

Patricia Hewitt: British Trade International supports UK companies wishing to exhibit at overseas trade fairs through the Support for Exhibitions and Seminars Abroad (SESA) scheme. All UK businesses and organisations involved in exporting from the UK are eligible for support. Grant entitlement is currently limited to three participations in most countries (five in Japan, China (excluding Hong Kong), Russia and the USA).
	The basic level of grant for eligible participants is 60 per cent. of their expenditure on stand space and stand construction up to a maximum of £2,300.
	The scheme is over subscribed, resulting in restrictions on the number of exhibitions in the programme, and on the number of companies in each group. Estimated expenditure on supporting UK organisations exhibiting abroad during 2002–03 is £21 million.
	The Director of Trade Partners UK, International Business Schemes attends twice yearly meetings of the West European Trade Facilitation Exhibitions Group
	(WETFEG) this forum is attended by a number of European State countries with similar schemes to SESA. Through this committee Trade Partners UK receive periodic reports from the member states on their various trade fair schemes and programmes. We are not aware of any assessment on the support given by France and Germany.

GATS

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the estimated impact of GATS on (a) the UK economy and (b) developing countries.

Patricia Hewitt: The UK can expect to gain from commitments taken by other WTO Members, as this will provide a more stable and competitive environment for UK companies seeking to expand into new markets. Similarly, for developing countries, GATS commitments should help to attract foreign participation in their markets and bring new investment and technology, while commitments by developed countries should confirm market access for service sectors and modes of supply (notably movement of people) of interest to them.
	Liberalisation is always a domestic policy choice. Governments will always weigh the risks and benefits in their assessment of what is in their overall interest. GATS negotiations cannot and will not force countries to make commitments where they choose not to do so.

Iraq (Export Credit Guarantee)

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the potential export credit guarantee liability in respect of contracts entered into with companies in Iraq and the Government of Iraq; how much of this amount is in respect of military contracts; and what amount of export credit guarantee liability has been paid.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 21 January 2003
	ECGD has not underwritten any business with Iraq since early 1990. Claims of £623 million were paid and remain outstanding, however as these guarantees have expired there are no further liabilities.
	Of the £600 million outstanding, around £26 million is in respect of equipment with potential defence applications, (e.g. communications equipment).

Post Office

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the state of negotiations between the National Federation of Sub Postmasters and Post Office Ltd. about the implementation of universal banking and the post office card account.

Patricia Hewitt: Negotiations between the National Federation of Sub Postmasters and Post Office Ltd. are a matter for the two parties concerned.

Publicity and Advertising

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much (a) her Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body sponsored by her Department spent on (i) publicity and (ii) advertising in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: For expenditure on advertising through COI from 1995–96 to 2000–01,1 refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 162W. Expenditure for 2001–02 and 2002–03 (to date) was £3,959,543 and £3,841,676 respectively. Information on publicity expenditure from centrally held budgets is contained in 'The Government's Expenditure Plans' which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Information on publicity and advertising by NDPBs is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Redundancies (Cumbria)

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with (a) South Lakeland district council and (b) Cumbria county council regarding the redundancies recently announced by Clarks at K Shoes in Kendal.

Alan Johnson: The North West Development Agency (NWDA) are in close contact with South Lakeland district council officials to coordinate the response to the situation in Kendal. NWDA will also participate in a task force meeting, convened by Cumbria county council, to discuss the K Shoes redundancies on 31st January 2003.

Scotch Whisky

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the outcome of her recent visit to India and Thailand, with particular reference to representations she made on behalf of the Scottish whisky industry.

Patricia Hewitt: During my recent visit to India and Thailand, I raised the issue of taxation on spirits and beer with Mr. Arun Shourie, the Minister for Commerce and Industry in New Delhi, and the Thai Prime Minister, Dr. Thaksin, and Deputy Finance Minister, Mr. Suchart, in Bangkok.
	Mr. Tim Jackson, of the Scotch Whisky Association, accompanied me on my visit to India as part of a UK trade delegation and during my call on the Thai Deputy Finance Minister.
	He raised the concerns of the Scotch whisky industry, in relation to the Indian Market, direct with Mr. Shourie.
	During the call on the Thai Deputy Finance Minister, Mr. Jackson offered to provide assistance to the relevant Thai authorities in their analysis of alternatives to ad valorem excise duties.
	The Thai Deputy Minister of Finance indicated that it was his aim to overhaul the current regime on Scotch whisky. He expressed the hope that this would be soon.

Temporary Workers

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to help improve the competitiveness of Britain's temporary worker market.

Alan Johnson: The Department of Trade and Industry is seeking to maintain a modern and effective regulatory framework for temporary agency work. To this end we have consulted on proposed changes to the conduct of employment agencies and employment business regulations, and also on the proposed European Union directive on temporary agency work.

Third-world Producers

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will support the right of poor country governments to provide targeted support and protection for their local producers.

Patricia Hewitt: Flexibilities for developing countries (with additional flexibilities for the least developed countries) to retain some targeted support and protection for their local producers already exist within all WTO trade defence instruments agreed in the Uruguay Round.
	The Government recognise that trade reform can have significant adverse effects on particular sectors and groups, especially in the short-term. This is why it is important that trade reform is accompanied by complementary policies to manage the process of change and integration into the world trading system. This may include some measures to promote indigenous industrial development. But the evidence of the benefits of specific tariff protection is mixed so the Government do not see it as a particularly useful tool to foster economic growth and therefore poverty reduction. Greater protectionism by developing countries limits the opportunities for poor countries to trade both with each other and with developed countries, excluding them further from the benefits of international trade.
	The Government also believe that existing WTO agreements should take better account of countries' specific development needs. Therefore, within the current Doha Development Agenda negotiations we support the further development of Special and Differential Treatment provisions to assist developing countries to integrate into the world trading system.

Trade Liberalisation

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in the GATS negotiations with ensuring that impact assessments are made on the liberalisation of trade.

Patricia Hewitt: The negotiating guidelines and procedures drawn up by WTO members for the current GATS negotiations call for impact assessment to be an on-going activity of the Council, with the negotiations adjusted in the light of the results of the assessment.
	In March 2002, the Services Council held a two-day symposium devoted to impact assessment. All the papers tabled for that symposium are publicly available on the WTO website at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop—e/serv—e/symp—assessment—serv—march02—e.htm.

UK Space Strategy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the objectives of the UK Space Strategy 1999 to 2002 were met; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The objectives set out in the United Kingdom Space Strategy 1999 to 2002, 'New Frontiers', were: to help industry maximise profitable business opportunities in the development and exploitation of space systems which improve the quality of life and enhance choice for consumers; to pursue the highest quality astronomy and space science; to improve our understanding of the Earth's environment and natural resources; to foster the development of innovative technology, its commercial exploitation and its application to research; and to communicate the results and their significance to a broad audience.
	I am satisfied that we have made good progress towards each of these objectives. The Strategy included a large number of key actions to monitor the implementation of the Strategy. Details of the actions and progress made have been made publicly available on the BNSC website: www.bnsc.gov.uk
	These long-term objectives have been further refined. I published a new draft Strategy for public consideration on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 13WS. This further focuses on the use of space systems throughout the economy. Copies of the draft Strategy have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and the text is available on the BNSC website. We aim to publish the final Strategy later this year.

TRANSPORT

Airport Capacity

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will complete his review of airport capacity in the south east of England.

John Spellar: The consultation period, throughout the UK, has been extended until we have consulted on Gatwick runway options. We intend to issue a revised south east consultation paper next month. The consultation period will then run for four months after the date of publication of the new material. Those who have already responded to the consultation will be able to amend, add to, or replace their response having considered the new material, if they wish to do so.
	All responses to the consultation will be considered and analysed carefully before final decisions are taken. These will be set out in an air transport White Paper, which we aim to publish towards the end of the year.

Bicyclists

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to sections 28 and 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 so that the provisions in respect of dangerous or careless riding of bicycles apply to bicycles ridden on a public footpath which is not adjacent to a road.

David Jamieson: This amendment is not necessary as a public footpath is a highway and therefore a 'road' for the purposes of sections 28 and 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Correspondence

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to reply to the letter of the hon. Member for Reigate and East Surrey of 17 December 2002, concerning Redhill Aerodrome.

David Jamieson: The letter to which the hon. Member refers was received in the Department on 30 December 2002 and acknowledged on the same day. A reply was sent on 27 January 2003.

Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of carbon dioxide emissions from transport from 1997 to 2002; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Carbon dioxide emissions from transport between 1997 and 2001 (including from domestic aviation) were estimated to be as follows:
	
		Million tonnes of carbon
		
			  By 'end user' By 'source' 
		
		
			 1997 39 36 
			 1998 39 36 
			 1999 39 36 
			 2000 39 35 
			 2001 n/a 34 
		
	
	'End user' figures include a share of the emissions from fuel processing industries and the combustion of fossil fuels at power stations, whereas the 'source' figures do not. The 1997 to 2000 figures are published in "Transport Statistics Great Britain, 2002 Edition" and are obtained from the National Environmental Technology Centre (NETCEN). Only 'source' figures are available for 2001 and these are provisional estimates derived from DTIs "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 20022. No estimates are available yet for 2002.

Illegal Immigrants

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many illegal immigrants were recorded as entering the UK via UK ports in each year since 1997, broken down by region; and what the estimates were in each year.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	I regret that information on the number of illegal immigrants recorded as entering at UK ports is not available.

Light Aircraft

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce noise from light aircraft using grass airstrips in rural England.

David Jamieson: Light aircraft have to comply with an internationally agreed noise certification standard, unless they were on the UK register prior to 1980. This standard was tightened for aircraft certificated after 1999. There are currently no plans for additional measures to reduce aircraft noise from light aircraft using grass airstrips in rural England. It is the responsibility of all aerodromes to ensure that appropriate rules are set and enforced to minimise noise nuisance.

M60 (Flooding)

Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions flooding has occurred on the stretch of the M60 between Denton and Hollinwood since it opened; how many accidents on this stretch have been attributed to flooding; who designed this stretch of motorway; what plans he has to undertake work to rectify design faults; and what estimate he has made of the cause of flooding in each case.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Andrew Bennett, dated 29 January 2003
	I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent question about flooding on the M60 Motorway between Demon and Hollinwood.
	Since the M60 opened m October 2000, there have been no recorded occurrences of flooding caused by either failures of the motorway drainage system or overflow from external water courses. What has happened is that during periods of intense rainfall, excess water can collect on the surface of the carriageway. Whilst we are not aware of any accidents that have occurred as a result, there are anecdotal reports from drivers that this is a matter of concern.
	The section of motorway between Denton and Medlock was designed on behalf of the Highways Agency by Mouchel Consulting Ltd. The remaining length to Hollinwood was the subject of a Design and Build contract undertaken by Balfour Beatty who used Gifford and Partners to advise on the design.
	At present, we are not aware of any design faults to which the excess water could be attributed. However, mindful of our duty of care towards motorway users, suitable warning signs were erected in Autumn last year. Additionally, and working with Greater Manchester Police, we have made use of variable message signing which is currently being used to good effect by encouraging drivers to slow down and take extra care in wet conditions.
	Investigations are currently in hand to identify causes of the surface water problems and I will write to you again when we have a clearer picture.

Rail Crime

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crimes have been committed against passengers on British Rail lines in the past five years.

David Jamieson: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided me with the following information.
	
		
			  2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 
		
		
			 Violent Crime 4,737 4,726 4,652 4,084 
			 Sexual Offences 718 647 751 789 
			 Theft of passenger property 16,918 15,194 14,661 12,725 
			 Robbery 2,625 2,109 1,813 1,612 
			 Public Disorder Offences 1,712 1,585 1,691 1,796 
			 Motor vehicle/cycle offences 13,197 13,044 13.460 14,895 
			 Total 39,907 37,305 37,028 35,901 
		
	
	These figures are for offences reported to the BTP for the rail network that they police, less London Underground. The figures for 1997–98 were recorded using different Home Office rules that would not be comparable with the figures for subsequent years.

Road Deaths

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) people (b) children under 15 and (c) cyclists were killed on Britain's roads in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The table shows the number of fatalities in the All, Child (0–14) and Cyclist categories in each year since 1992.
	
		Road accident fatalities: GB 1992–2001
		
			 Casualties 
			  All Child Cyclists 
		
		
			 1992 4,229 268 204 
			 1993 3,814 270 186 
			 1994 3,650 265 172 
			 1995 3,621 230 213 
			 1996 3,598 211 203 
			 1997 3,599 228 183 
			 1998 3,421 179 158 
			 1999 3,423 196 172 
			 2000 3,409 162 127 
			 2001 3,450 185 138 
		
	
	(46) Fatalities aged 0–14.
	During the period 1992–2001 there has been a steady downward trend in the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. This has been achieved despite an increase in road traffic (including pedal cycles) since 1992 of 15 per cent.

Road Quietening

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the road quietening schemes that are being examined by his Department in Hull and the East Riding.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the right hon. Member.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. David Davis, dated 29 January 2003
	I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, 10 reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for a list of road quietening schemes that are being examined by his Department in Hull and the East Riding.
	The Highways Agency is working to achieve the Government's commitment to deliver the target of resurfacing 60% of the trunk road and motorway network with low noise surfacing by 2011. This includes resurfacing all concrete roads. Within Hull and the East Riding there are two sections of concrete roads, both on the M62 Motorway, between Gilberdyke and Newport, and Balkholme and Gilberdyke. Some preliminary design work has been undertaken on schemes for these sections of road. There is also a section of concrete carriageway on the Ml8 Motorway between Junctions 6 and 7, which falls partly within the East Riding. The timing of resurfacing work will depend on when road maintenance is required.
	In addition, the Agency regularly reviews the trunk road and motorway network to identify the need for maintenance. At present, we envisage undertaking the following maintenance schemes within the next four years and will be considering the use of quieter surfaces:
	M62
	Junction 35 to Langham
	A63
	M62 to South Cave
	South Cave to Welton
	Western Interchange to Brighton Street
	I hope this is helpful. If you would like any further information you may wish to contact the Agency's Area Manager for Hull and the East Riding, Mick Spink, on 0113 283 5397, or you can email him at mick.spink@highwavs.gsi.gov.uk

Thames Valley Multi-modal Study

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual capital sums are which are planned within the budget for transport over 10 years announced in the Thames Valley multi-modal study.

John Spellar: The capital measures recommended by the Thames Valley Multi-Modal Study have been estimated by the consultants to cost £1.1 billion over an implementation period to 2018. Subject to the Government's response to the recommendations, the annual capital costs will depend on decisions about the phasing and construction of recommended schemes.

Train Franchises

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many train franchises were (a) renewed and (b) let in the last year; and what the average duration of those new franchises is.

John Spellar: The following franchises were renewed or re-let in 2002. The table shows the type of extension/renewal/re-letting and the duration.
	
		
			 Train operator Re-letting etc. (date) Duration 
		
		
			 Chiltern railways 18 February 2002 Until 2012, 2017 or 2022 depending upon the achievement of contractual terms 
			 GNER 16 January 2002 Extension of two years to April 2005 
			 South West Trains 6 November 2002 Extension of one year to February 2004 in order that negotiations about extension of the franchise for a further three years may continue

TREASURY

Flooding

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to introduce an extra tax for property owners whose dwellings are threatened by persistent flooding.

Paul Boateng: As stated in the 2002 Spending Review White Paper, the Government are building on the work of the flood and coastal defence funding review to explore options for putting in place new funding mechanisms and simplifying the administration of flood defences. An announcement on any reforms to the administration or funding of flood defence will be made in due course.

Diversity Objectives

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the diversity objectives set by each senior civil servant within his Department for the latest year available; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 13 January 2003, Official Report, column 414W.

Health and Safety Accidents (Treasury)

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the health and safety accidents which occurred in HM Treasury in 2001–02, stating the reason for each accident; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: There were 27 minor health and safety accidents in the period concerned, of which 11 involved Treasury staff and 16 involved contractors working in HM Treasury.

Information Technology Skills

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the credit incentives from learning providers about higher level information technology skills; and what financial incentives his Department is planning to encourage individuals to undertake training.

John Healey: The Chancellor and other Treasury Ministers have received representations on skills issues from a variety of organisations, including learning providers. The Government are currently reviewing the funding of adult learning, including the role of financial incentives. This review will feed into the National Skills Strategy, which will be published in the summer.

Office of Government Commerce

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reasons underlie the reduction in expenditure by the Office of Government Commerce between 2001–02 and 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The level of resource consumption estimated for 2001 -02 for the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in the latest H.M. Treasury Departmental Report (Cm5425) was £88 million, reducing to a planned -£5million in 2002–03. The actual level of resource consumption in 2001–02 was £6million. The change between the estimated and actual outturns for 2001–02 is largely accounted for by a revaluation to and change in timing of the run down of some of the provisions the OGC holds in respect of its obligation to dispose of the Government's remaining surplus Residual Civil Estate. The change in the timing will also affect the outturn for 2002–03 where it is now anticipated that the likely outturn will be some £50 million. Such fluctuations in the valuations of and timing for the sale of the remaining surplus Estate, which reflect market conditions and opportunities, can be expected to continue in the future, although on a smaller scale as the size of the remaining Residual Estate continues to reduce. The actual change in resource consumption between years also reflects a reduction in the level of income the OGC generates .

Sickness Absence

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of staff (a) absenteeism and (b) sickness was in his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03; what the target set is for his Department; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Information on absenteeism is not available. Unauthorised absence is recorded as unpaid leave along with authorised unpaid absence (such as maternity leave or career breaks) and cannot be disaggregated.
	Information on sickness absence covering the Treasury, Customs and Excise, the Valuation Office Agency, Inland Revenue, the Department for National Savings, the Government Actuary Department and the Office for National Statistics is published by the Cabinet Office in their annual reports on "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service".
	Information since 1994 from those reports is as follows:
	
		Average working days absence per staff-year
		
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Customs and Excise 8.3 9.6 9.1 8.9 9.4 9.6 9.0 8.7 
			 Inland Revenue 9.6 10.8 10.8 11.9 11.0 11.5 10.9 9.5 
			 Valuation Office Agency — — — 9.8 9.0 10.1 9.2 7.0 
			 Office for National Statistics (Central Statistical Office) 9.1 11.5 — 9.1 9.6 8.8 8.0 7.9 
			 Department for National Savings 14.3 16.1 14.3 10.9 9.6 4.7 8.8 2.2 
			 Government Actuary Department 5.8 5.8 10.4 6.2 6.7 6.7 6.6 6.9 
			 HM Treasury 7.0 8.4 5.1 4.9 5.3 5.5 3.9 4.7 
		
	
	Information for the Royal Mint and the Debt Management Office is as follows:
	
		Average working days absence per staff-year
		
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Royal Mint 7.5 8.2 8.0 5.8 6.3 6.5 5.4 5.9 
			 Debt Management Office — — — — 0 0.5 0.3 1.1 
		
	
	Information for 2002 will be announced in due course. Sick absence targets for Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, Valuation Office Agency, ONS and HM Treasury are reported in the relevant departmental or annual reports. These are available on the relevant websites. Targets for DNS, GAD and the Royal Mint are in the following table. The DMO are reviewing their sick management policies.
	
		
			 Sick absence target  
		
		
			 DNS 4.3 working days by 2003 
			 GAD 7.5 working days by end of March 2003. 
			 Royal Mint 6.3 days for non-industrial staff for 2003

Tax Regime

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will change the Inland Revenue regime for life insurance and tax exempt savings plans; and when he will next meet the Association of Friendly Societies.

John Healey: The Sandler review of the market for medium and long-term retail savings, which was published last July, recommended two changes to the regime for taxing life insurance products. These changes are the abolition of qualifying policies and the replacement of the so-called 5 per cent. tax-deferral rule which applies to withdrawals.
	As we announced in the Pre-Budget Report, the Government are considering these proposals as part of the Budget process and is discussing their implications with the insurance industry and friendly society movement. I understand that the Association of Friendly Societies (AFS) has been in frequent contact with Treasury and Inland Revenue officials. I am not aware of any recent request from the AFS for a meeting with Treasury Ministers.

Unemployment (Fife)

John MacDougall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest figure is for unemployment in the Fife region for (a) men, (b) women, (c) men over 50 and (d) women over 50.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. MacDougall, dated 29 January 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Fife. (93558)
	The local Labour Force Survey for March 2001 to February 2002 (not yet adjusted for the 2001 Census) shows an estimated 15,000 unemployed people resident in the Fife local authority district. No figures by age and sex are available as the sample sizes are too small to provide reliable estimates.
	The Office for National Statistics also compiles claimant count statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. The following table shows the figures for Fife in December 2002.
	
		Claimant count in Fife local authority district—not seasonally adjusted (December 2002)
		
			  Men Women 
		
		
			 Total claimants 6,499 1,931 
			 Age 50 and over 1,229 376

Written Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of written parliamentary questions received by his Department in 2001–02 were not answered substantively within (a) two weeks, (b) one month and (c) three months; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers attach importance to answering parliamentary questions promptly. In the 2001–02 session, 4,618 of the 5,888 written questions to the Treasury (78.4 per cent.) received substantive replies on or before the due date for answering. 111 (1.9 per cent. of the total) had not been answered within two weeks, 57 (1.0 per cent.) within one month and 43 (0.7 per cent.) within three months. In the 2002[en rule]03 session to date, 76.7 per cent. of all written questions have been answered on time.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out for each quarter from September 2000 (a) how many applications for attendance allowance have been received, and of those how many were (i) successful, (ii) unsuccessful, (iii) subject to appeal and (iv) successful at appeal, (b) what the average processing time has been for attendance allowance for (i) first-time claims and (ii) appeals for claims to be reconsidered, (c) how many applications for attendance allowance have (i) been subject to reconsideration and (ii) successful at reconsideration, and what was the average number of days taken to process appeals, and (d) how many (i) claims, (ii) reviews, (iii) reconsiderations and (iv) appeals there were on which a decision had not been reached at the end of each quarter of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: Such information as can reliably be made available is contained in the table. Information is not available on claims, reviews, reconsiderations and appeals on which a decision had not been reached (part (d) of the question).
	
		Number of applications for Attendance Allowance received, successful and unsuccessful each quarter from September 2000
		
			  Received Successful Unsuccessful 
		
		
			 September–November 2000 101,715 78,680 25,415 
			 December 2000-February 2001 90,745 66,130 21,380 
			 March-May 2001 103,190 77,405 24,720 
			 June-August 2001 102,050 75,870 23,525 
			 September-November 2001 97,470 76,395 23,110 
			 December 2001-February 2002 87,690 68,290 20,470 
			 March-May 2002 107,395 79,740 22,560 
			 June-August 2002 96,870 74,365 21,595 
			 September-November 2002 99,905 80,745 23,185 
		
	
	The figures for successful and unsuccessful claims relate to the decisions given during that period and will not necessarily equate to the number of claims received during the period.
	Further data regarding appeals is not available at this time.
	
		Actual average clearance times AACT (in working days) for normal rules (NR) claims, reconsiderations and appeals (Attendance Allowance) April 2000 to December 2002
		
			   AACT 
			 Total quarter Date NR claims Reconsiderations Appeals 
		
		
			 2000–01 
			 1 April-June 2000 36.1 58.7 68.8 
			 2 July-September 2000 31.8 50.0 69.7 
			 3 October-December 2000 26.4 44.6 55.7 
			 4 January-March 2001 26.7 40.1 47.9 
			  
			 2001–02
			 1 January-March 2001 26.0 35.0 38.9 
			 2 July-September 2001 27.9 36.8 36.1 
			 3 October-December 2001 28.9 36.9 36.8 
			 4 January-March 2002 25.4 36.5 34.2 
			  
			 2002
			 1 April-June 2002 24.6 34.1 33.4 
			 2 April-June 2002 26.6 32.8 32.2 
			 3 October-December 2002 24.1 32.2 31.8 
		
	
	Source:
	Information supplied by MIS Support (FPMT) Norcross
	Data from National Management Information Pack
	
		Number of attendance allowance reconsiderations each quarter from September 2000
		
			  Decisions Successful 
		
		
			 September-November 2000 7,955 3,465 
			 December 2000-February 2001 6,050 2,480 
			 March-May 2001 5,900 2,435 
			 June-August 2001 5,930 2,425 
			 September-November 2001 5,495 2,140 
			 December 2001-February 2002 5,575 2,390 
			 March-May 2002 5,325 2,265 
			 June-August 2002 5,495 2,420 
			 September-November 2002 6,120 2,710 
		
	
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre 100 per cent data taken from 100 per cent extract of monthly management information system and rounded to the nearest 5.

Benefits Agency (Fraud)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent guidelines he has issued in respect of the (a) disciplinary measures and (b) criminal proceedings to be imposed when staff of the Benefits Agency are found to have committed fraud.

Malcolm Wicks: In December 2002 the Department issued a revised disciplinary policy to all staff which outlined the guidelines to be issued in all cases of serious and minor misconduct, including internal fraud. The policy is supported by separate guidance produced for individuals and managers and includes categories of disciplinary offences and the range and duration of penalties.
	Guidance outlining the circumstances when criminal proceedings should be considered is regularly reviewed and updated as appropriate.

Call Centres

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the telephone call centres that provide services for his Department and its agencies, indicating in each case (a) who is responsible for operating the centre, (b) how many staff work in the centre and (c) what the cost of the centre was in the last 12 months to his Department and its agencies.

Ian McCartney: The available information has been placed in the Library. This information is not routinely collected or validated centrally. Many DWP call centre services are integrated with the Department's core functions to varying degrees and this has made it difficult to disaggregate some staff functions and costs or to provide details on a consistent basis. The figures provided should, therefore, be read with reference to the explanatory notes that it has been necessary to provide for most returns.

Disability Living Allowance

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of higher level disability living allowance there are in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is contained in the table. Disability Living Allowance is divided into two components: care, which has three rates; and mobility, which has two.
	
		Number of people receiving the highest rate care component and the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance at 31 August 2002 -- Thousands
		
			  Highest care Higher mobility  
		
		
			 United Kingdom 531.9 1,587.2 
			 England 396.7 1,193.8 
			 Scotland 56.7 172.1 
			 Wales 40.1 137.5 
			 Northern Ireland 38.3 83.8 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Recipients of highest-rate care component may also be in receipt of a mobility component.
	Recipients of higher-rate mobility component may also be in receipt of a care component
	Northern Ireland Figures were provided by the Statistics and Research Branch, Department for Social Development
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, data taken from 5 per cent).

Gas Pipes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the gas network has metal mains pipes.

Nick Brown: I am informed by the Health and Safety Executive that there are approximately 275,000 km of gas main in Transco's network of which approximately 55 per cent. of the total length are metal i.e. 151,000 km.

Government Subsidised Training

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) received into the length of time which individuals on average practise a particular trade or occupation after receiving Government subsidised training in it.

Nick Brown: holding answer 27 January 2003
	The objective of our policies is to help jobless people, particularly the most disadvantaged, move into and remain in employment. Initiatives such as the New Deals and Work Based Learning for Adults are helping to achieve this. Some of those helped into work by government programmes may change their jobs or occupations at a later date. However, the skills and confidence they have gained through participation in our programmes will stand them in good stead in the current dynamic labour market. Success, therefore, should be measured by the improvement in the level of employment. This has increased by 1.3 million since 1997 and now stands at 27.8 million.
	There has been no specific research into the length of time individuals stay in a particular occupation after receiving Government subsidised training. However, we have commissioned a study into Work Based Learning for Adults that will examine the impact of a subsidised training programme on client outcomes.

Grants

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the grants funded by his Department for which individual members of the public and organisations may apply; and if he will make a statement as to (a) the total of such funding in the last financial year, (b) the total number of awards and (c) their administrative costs.

Nick Brown: Our objectives are to fight poverty, create opportunity for all and help people become self sufficient and independent. Jobcentre Plus and The Pension Service administer adiverse range of grant schemes, usually linked to specific life events such as maternity or bereavement, to which individual members of the public can apply for help. Grants are also available to help people lead independent lives in the community.
	In addition the Department works in partnership with a number of grant aided organisations. However we do not administer any grant schemes which are open to application by outside organisations.
	Information on administration costs is currently not available in the format requested. The Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs) as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
	Information relating to the principal grant schemes administered by the Department in 2001–02 is in the table.
	
		
			  2001–02 Expenditure (£ million) Number of awards 
		
		
			 Sure Start Maternity Grant(47) 61.2 201,000 
			 Funeral payments (47) 38.4 42,000 
			 Community Care Grants (47) 102.6 233,000 
			 Job Grant(48) 5.3 530,000 
			 New Deal 50 Plus Training Grant (49) 0.885 2,100 
			 Access to work (48) 40.9 13.000 
		
	
	(47) Social Fund Annual Report 2002
	(48) Jobcentre Plus computer system
	(49) ND 50 plus evaluation data base.
	Notes:
	(i) Expenditure rounded to nearest thousand
	(ii) Number of awards rounded to nearest thousand.

Incomes (Kendal)

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the population of the Kendal travel-to-work-area had an income (a) below, (b) at and (c) above the national average in each of the past five years.

Nick Brown: The information requested is not available.

Minimum Income Guarantee

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the 34-page version of 'Review Claim Form A2' continues to be issued to Minimum Income Guarantee claimants.

Ian McCartney: The review claim form A2 continues to be used when reviewing certain Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) claims. It is completed, for example, when the claimant is in receipt of another income such as occupational pension, has capital, or receives Invalid Care Allowance or Attendance Allowance. It was used in around 10 per cent. of MIG claims in 2001–02 and was completed by a member of DWP staff in two thirds of these cases. Help to complete the form is available to everyone.

Minimum Income Guarantee

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Telford benefit from the Minimum Income Guarantee.

Ian McCartney: As at August 2002 there were 2,900 people benefiting from the Minimum Income Guarantee in the Telford constituency.
	Source:
	Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 2002.

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the total expenditure by his Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad, in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, Mr. Alexander, on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

Occupational Pension Schemes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies offered occupational pension schemes on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) 1 May 2002.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available.
	Some information on the proportion of private sector employers that offer occupational pension schemes can be found from the DWP Employers1 Pension Provision survey, which has been conducted in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Results from these surveys have been published and are available in the Library.
	The table is a reproduction of Table 4.2 of 'Employers Pension Provision Survey 2000', by Alison Smith and Stephen McKay, DWP Research Report no. 163.
	
		Pension provision by size of organisation, 1996, 1998 and 2000 -- Cell percentages
		
			  1996 1998 2000  
			 Type of pension provision Up to 19 employees 20+ employees Up to 19 employees 20+ employees Up to 19 employees 20+ employees 
		
		
			  Occupational scheme(50) n/a (51)n/a (51)n/a (51)n/a 5 22 
			 Salary-related 3 19 2 13 1 12 
			 Money purchase 2 13 3 10 2 9 
			 COMBS — — 0 1 (52)— 1 
			 Top Hat 6 8 3 10 3 6 
			 Other 0 0 0 (52)— 0 1 
			 Closed scheme 1 6 1 5 2 5 
			  Group personal pension 6 194 26 7 37 
			 Contributions to personal pensions 20 27 21 30 16 23 
			
			 Any provision 36 70 32 66 26 64 
			 No provision 64 30 68 34 74 36 
		
	
	(50) Any.
	(51) Information not available from published reports.
	(52) Less than 0.5 per cent.
	Notes:
	1. COMBS schemes (contracted-out on a mixed benefit basis) were not available until April 1997. Top Hat schemes are those set up for senior managers or only currently available to senior management.
	2. Figures for 1997 are not available. There was no survey in 2002 but a survey for 2003 is currently being undertaken.
	3. Methodological improvements to the survey between 1996 and 2000 mean that results are not strictly comparable across years. A detailed explanation of these improvements is given on pages 45–46 of the publication referred to above.
	4. Data are only available in the form of proportions, rather than numbers of employers.
	5. Results refer to private sector employers only.
	6. Companies may offer more than one type of pension scheme.

Pension Credit

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely take-up of the new pension credit; and how many questions pensioners will be required to answer to assess their eligibility.

Ian McCartney: We have committed to a target of paying pension credit to at least three million pensioner households by 2006. We have already shortened the minimum income guarantee claim form from 40 to 10 pages. We are designing the pension credit application process to be even simpler, including use of the telephone for most applications. The number of questions that a pensioner is required to answer in order to assess their eligibility to pension credit will depend on their individual circumstances.

Pensioner Poverty

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received about pensioner poverty.

Maria Eagle: The Department receives representations about pensioner poverty on an ongoing basis and also meets with Partnership Against Poverty group regularly.
	Providing a decent income is the key to tackling pensioner poverty and from April, no pensioner will have to get by on less than £102.10 a week (£155.80 for married couples).

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his policy on the annual upgrading of retirement pensions for British citizens living in (a) Barbados and (b) Canada.

Ian McCartney: We uprate State Pensions for British citizens living overseas where there is a legal requirement or a reciprocal social security agreement to do so.
	The UK has a reciprocal agreement with Barbados that provides for British pensioners living in that country to be paid the same rate of State Pension as would be paid if they lived in the UK. However, although there is a social security arrangement with the Canadian Government, it does not allow for the payment of UK benefits to persons in Canada and contains no similar provision on the uprating of State Pensions.
	The uprating of State Pensions abroad is the subject of a Court of Appeal hearing set for 24–25 March 2003. This is an appeal against the High Court's finding that the UK Government are not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by not annually uprating the State Pension in countries where there is no agreement to do so.

Retirement Age

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with interested groups on plans to make the retirement age for men and women equal.

Ian McCartney: The UK has a fixed age for eligibility to State Pension (currently 60 for women and 65 for men, although to be equalised at 65 for both sexes as from 2020). We do not have a national mandatory retirement age. Sex discrimination legislation prohibits employers from setting different retirement ages for men and women.
	A variety of representations have been received from a range of organisations and individuals about the equalisation of State Pension Age, the bulk of which would have been dealt with at the time of the previous administration. A discussion document "Options for Equality in State Pension Age" was published in December 1991. A White Paper "Equality in State Pension Age" followed in December 1993.
	Plans to equalise the State Pension age progressively over the period 2010 to 2020, were enacted by the 1995 Pensions Act.
	We are also committed to implementing the age strand of the European Employment Directive by 2006, when domestic legislation will come into force outlawing age discrimination in employment and training. Under the Directive, employers' compulsory retirement ages are likely to be unlawful unless they are objectively justified.

Transco

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what punitive action was provided for prior to March 2002 by (a) statute and (b) regulation against Transco for failure to fulfil its statutory obligations to reassess its engineers' qualification to the Approved Competency Standard, and to provide an emergency service to domestic premises.

Nick Brown: In March 1997, Transco was registered with Corgi and all its emergency service operatives were deemed to hold valid certification under the Health and Safety Commission's Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) scheme, the sole means of demonstrating safety competence then in force. As this certification was valid for five years, no action could have been taken against Transco up to March 2002.
	If Transco were to breach legal requirements in this area, there is a range of enforcement action available to HSE under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1994, ranging from the provision of advice to the serving of an enforcement notice and, ultimately, prosecution.

Transco

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Approved Competency Standard ceased to be the qualification required by Transco for its engineers engaged in safety work in domestic premises.

Nick Brown: Since 1998, competency standards have been incorporated in the Nationally Accredited Certification Scheme for Individual Gas Fitting Operatives (ACS). However, a new National Vocational Qualification, developed by the Gas and Water Industries National Training Organisation (GWINTO), was launched in 2002, and includes competence assessments that, with regard to gas safety matters, are aligned with those of the ACS.
	Transco has a duty to meet the requirements of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 with regard to gas work downstream of the emergency control valve immediately before the meter. It has to ensure that its operatives who undertake this work are competent to do it safely. The accepted means for determining competence is for operatives to be assessed against recognised national standards on a five-yearly cycle. Standards were originally set under a Health and Safety Commission Approved Code of Practice (ACOP). All Transco engineers engaged in safety work in domestic premises hold valid certificates of competence under one or other of these schemes, and accordingly, meet the registration conditions laid down by the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI).

Transco

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of work under the safety case is performed by non-Transco employees; and who bears statutory responsibility for the quality of that work.

Nick Brown: The percentage of work performed by non-Transco employees may vary and is not prescribed in Transco's safety case. However, the safety case contains details of Transco's health and safety management system, which includes arrangements for the management of contractors.
	Both Transco and their contractors have a statutory responsibility for ensuring work carried out is such that it will not, so far as is reasonably practicable, expose either its own employees or others to risks to their health and safety.

Unemployment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on unemployment in (a) Romford, (b) the London Borough of Havering and (c) Greater London.

Nick Brown: Our policies have created a strong economy geared to delivering stability, low inflation and have helped deliver a high and stable level of employment benefiting every part of the country. Alongside this, through Jobcentre Plus and programmes such as the New Deal, our labour market policies promote attachment to the job market.
	Our success is reflected in the fall in the unemployment figures for London, the London Borough of Havering and for Romford which are in the table:
	
		Claimant unemployment (not seasonally adjusted)
		
			  December 1997 December 2002 Percentage fall 
		
		
			 Romford 1,093 835 24 
			 London borough of Havering 3,295 2,350 29 
			 Greater London 234,000 166,000 29 
		
	
	Source
	ONS